NIRI: Narrative Therapy Informed Relational Interviewing
New ways of working with Highly Conflicted Couple Relationships
Stephen Madigan MSW, MSc, PhD (RCC/ACS)
A Relational Interviewing Training Event
May 15 & 16, 2026
Online Teaching Faculty:
Stephen Madigan PhD (Canada)
Dates: May 15-16, 2026
Time: 8:15 am - 3:00 pm, Pacific Daylight Time (Vancouver, BC)
Location: Classes are taught live through Zoom
Professional: $485.00 CAD (+ tax)
*Approximately $356.00 USD
Students/VSNT.live members: $385. CAD (+ tax)
*Approximately $283.00 USD
Proof of student status is required
upon registration
"Dr Madigan invites therapists to reconsider how they practice narrative therapy and more importantly demonstrates his new relational work with multiple couples in ways to how to work with conflict in a radically different relational way! Magnificent!"
Participant 2025 Oslo, Norway.
"Everything I've ever learned about couple therapy has gone out the window. The workshop was f***ing bending, beautiful, and bold to experience Stephen's NIRI work. Thanks and gratitude!"
Participant 2025 NYC, USA
"Immediately I felt the workshop speaking to the real world experience of busy modern couples. Participant 2025 NYC, USA
The workshop demonstrates a 5 step relational interviewing framework. Participants learn through watching/discussing multiple session videos of Stephen working with couples in Canada, Norway, and the USA to outline his unique, non-individualist narrative therapy informed Relational Interviewing (NIRI) couple therapy practice.
NIRI believes couple relationships brought to therapy cannot be separated off from the culture of influence, expectations, obligations, norms, and governance that all couple relationships are influenced by and relationally embedded within.
Narrative therapy informed practice views couple relationships as shaped by and imbedded within dominant social practices, cultural norms and expectations, socio-economics, structural inequalities etc.
Outline:
~ Why NIRI sessions begin with remembering relational values and the origin story of the couple relationship (before the partial story of the conflict) to engage a double description and difference
~ Learn the use, structure, grammar, politic, and purpose of relational remembering and reauthoring questions
~ To identify the influence of relational and cultural contexts shaping and influencing couple relationship practices
~ Learn the process of re-authoring responses to expressions of couple conflict as loss and grief of the relationships pre-problem values
~ Learn the NIRI process of asking questions and writing therapeutic letters directly to the Couple Relationship.
**Throughout the course numerous session video's with conflicted couple relationships are demonstrated. Due to issues of confidentiality and participant consent, recordings of this training will not be made available.
Daily Training Schedule
Relationships are Relational
"I was in tears throughout this NIRI workshop. The relational and contextual understandings Stephen has of the couples relationship , skill of his writing letters and questions directed to the relationship and compassion shown by these conflicted couples to one another was remarkable!! It also had me
re-appreciating my own intimate relationship. Absolutely amazing and life changing!"
- Participant, London, UK, 2025
Day 1
8:15 AM – 11:00 AM
Ecology of the Receiving Context NIRI Receives Conflicted Couple Relations Into:
1 a) Learn new relational ideas about: memory, relational values, norms, suffering narratives, partial stories/partial history, double description and difference, relational grief, conflict, and loss.
1 b) Learn how NIRI couple therapy involves a deliberate political and ideological practice shift towards an ecology of interlocking ideas and therapeutic practices supporting:
non-individualism/non-essentialism
relational-contextual inter-connectivity
me to we consciousness
cultural and contextual complexities
social rituals, governing norms, and dominant beliefs
structural inequalities, power relations
relational responsibilities, obligations, and expectations
12:00 PM – 3 PM
Session Video Demonstrations
Discussions on a NIRI couple therapy practice framework
Day 2
8:15 AM – 11:00 AM
Session Video Demonstrations
New Ideas about Relational Conflict, Grief and Loss
1 A relational response to relational distress
2 A relational protest in support of a preferred relational ethos and,
3 A relational desire to recover values of importance that have been lost
Couple Relationships Relationship to Other Relationships
Demonstrations of reconnecting the intimate relationships relationship to include all the many contextual and culturally inspired relationships their relationship is under the influence of and in relationship with - work, extended family, children, politics, religion etc.
12:00 PM – 3 PM
Session Video Demonstrations
Writing letters of consultation directly to the couple relationship
We welcome your questions: