Stephen is the VSNT couple therapist who first created NIRI. The therapy practice is deeply interwoven within philosopher Todd May's ideas and teachings. Together they guide participants through the relational and ideological complexities, politic, interviewing steps, questioning craft, letter writing to the relationship etc., that is at the heart of this common sense practice of couple therapy. Session demonstrations with couples from Canada, Norway, and America will show the theory in practice.

Helene and David are both very close collaborators with the ongoing developments in NIRI practice. They will act as the supervisor, interviewer, and commentators. Helene and David invite Stephen to take participants through the step-by-step process and practice of session demonstrations working with couples from Canada, Norway, and America.

Rock demonstrates his newly created narrative therapy informed 5-step relational approach with trans youth and their families (and the communities they live in). This stunning new approach brings forth parental/caregiver affirmation and community support of trans youth.

Julia and Rock show participants how they have explored the practice of therapeutic letter writing in novel and innovative ways. Their work includes inviting clients to write letters to clients, using co-created narrative documents in place of group therapy, and the use of letters in supervision. Their aim is to inspire participants to try new ways of using letters in narrative practice by sharing examples of these letters, walking you through a step-by-step outline of the process, and highlighting narrative principles/theory underpinning these innovations.

Maurice Merleau-Ponty is the missing theoretical link in narrative practice. His conception of the body and how it engages the world provides a bridge from Michel Foucault’s politics to therapeutic practice. We know that we are embodied, but narrative theory has not articulated a full framework for understanding embodiment. This session will introduce participants to the thought of Merleau-Ponty and how it connects to both Michel Foucault and narrative theory.

Jeff demonstrates how current understandings about the brain and the distributed nervous system in the body might contribute to dramatically enriching and evolving our narrative therapy practice. Exciting.

Rosa transports participants beyond current trauma-informed practice trends and highlights her twenty years of direct practice as acting Clinical Supervisor of an experienced, all woman, narrative therapy inspired gender violence team in Vancouver, Canada. Profound.

Foundation participants are now beginning to have a solid working knowledge and understanding of theoretical frameworks, and therapeutic practices at the heart of narrative therapy interviewing. Stephen moves Sunday afternoon's discussion forward towards new understandings and skills related to the next set of important narrative practice understandings:

5) Re-membering conversations, 6) Re-authoring conversations, and, 7) The counter-file method for taking in-session therapy notes. 

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He ends the training with participant reflections and questions.