Therapeutic Conversations Conference 23
October 8th, 2025
Sacramento, California
Practice. Politics. Purpose.
~ Welcome to the Narrative Therapy Community ~
Photo: Danielle O'Connor Akiyama
SAFE. SEEN. UNDERSTOOD.
FREE PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS
October 8th, 2025
1 PM - 4 PM
Relationships are Relational: Narrative Therapy informed Relational Interviewing (NIRI)
with Conflicted Couple Relationships
Stephen Madigan (Canada)
Award-winning couple and family therapist, bestselling author,
and director of training with the Vancouver School for Narrative Therapy.
Pop psychology suggests your intimate couple relationship exists in a separate relational sphere from the rest of the world ~ supporting individualist theories, privatizing problems, and focusing couple therapy on the “core self, “attachment styles,” "individual love languages," etc.
The practice of Narrative Therapy informed Relational Interviewing (NIRI) invites couple therapists to consider a deliberate political, philosophical, and non-individualist practice shift towards an ecology of interlocking ideas and narrative practices towards considerations of:
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Relationships contextual and relational interconnectedness.
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Reconnecting couple relationships with relational values before addressing relational conflicts.
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Couple conflict as expressions of lost relational values, and cultural/contextual complexities.
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Influence of social rituals, governing norms, and dominant beliefs.
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Structural inequalities, power relations.
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Relational responsibilities, obligations, and expectations.
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Writing relational letters directly to the couple relationship.
The workshop demonstrates a series of step-by-step NIRI videos of Stephen working with couples in Canada, Norway, and the USA.
Responding to Systemic Violence against Trans and
Gender-Expansive Communities
Moderator: Rock Nylund (USA)
Clinical Training Director, Gender Health Centre
Dr. Malakai Coté: Executive Director, Gender Health Center,
Ari Lozano: Director of Mental Health, Gender Health Center,
Charlie Hutchinson: Counseling Program Manager, Gender Health Center
The panel features clinicians from the Gender Health Center exploring how therapists can advocate for transgender and gender-expansive clients amid escalating anti-trans legislation and systemic oppression. Panelists will highlight community and therapeutic practices that center on dignity and collective organizing. The discussion highlights therapists’ roles in affirming trans identities and fostering agency and solidarity in today’s politically charged climate. Expect brilliant discussion on how to:
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Identify the impacts of systemic violence and anti-trans legislation on transgender and gender-expansive individuals.
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Explore narrative therapy and community-rooted practices that affirm trans identities, foster agency, and create community and solidarity.
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Examine the role of therapists as advocates in resisting systemic oppression and supporting trans liberation within and beyond the therapy room.