Hope is a necessary construct in narrative therapy but we need to be careful how we think about it. It does not lie in the essence of persons. There are not categories of people who are hopeful and hopeless. Rather, hope lies in the stories that we use to make sense of our lives but dominant stories from the world around us sometimes interfere with our access to hopeful stories. Therapy can help us reconnect with these stories, leading to the exercise of personal agency in our own lives. This presentation will explore how to help people do this through narrative therapy. Introductory comments on the archaeology of hope ”The archaeology of hope” was the title our (1997) book on narrative therapy. It was actually the sub-title of the book, but many people know the book by this title. I originally wanted it as the main title, but the publishers were concerned that people searching on the Internet would think it was a book about anthropology. The title came to me as I lay awake thinking in the middle of the night when we were stuck for a title. The idea began with the image Gerald Monk wrote about in chapter 1 of an archaeologist sifting through sand for clues to make a story about an
Can restorative justice contribute to social justice or only to procedural justice? This question is taken up in this paper. A case is presented for restorative justice to purposefully address social justice issues intentionally but so is a warning that doing so requires an explicit attention to the analysis of power. Here a narrative perspective is called upon as an example of an approach that is founded on such an analysis of power. The special case of bullying is also addressed. It is recommended that a more explicit focus on social justice might be added to the procedural focus so often typical of restorative justice.
This is a study of the usefulness of the concept of ‘discursive positioning’ in the practice of mediation and in the analysis of what happens in mediation. Mediation, as typically practised, has developed within the general philosophical framework of modernist thought, exemplified in mediation by the problem-solving method. Several foundational assumptions of the problem-solving method are identified: a) the idea of the mediator as a neutral facilitator; b) the idea of negotiating on the basis of underlying interests or needs rather than polarised positions; c) the idea of a win-win resolution in the form of an agreement. In this study, these foundational concepts are examined first in terms of the critiques that have been raised against them. They are further examined through the lens of postmodern and social constructionist thought and found inadequate in their accounting for the cultural conditions that give rise to people’s interests. A theory of discourse and discursive positioning is outlined which explains how people take up positions in relation to discourse in the process of making an utterance in conversation. Such utterances also implicitly or explicitly call others into position in relations within discourse. The concept of discursive positioning is used in this study as a theoretical tool, a practical tool and a research tool. For the research purpose, Critical Discourse Analysis is adapted to include attention to the negotiation of discursive positions in conversation. This study uses this method of discourse analysis to demonstrate therapeutic change by tracking shifts in discursive positioning. Two transcripts of role-played mediation conversations are examined. One of these is used to demonstrate how a narrative mediator can make use of discursive positioning as a conceptual tool for practice. The second role-play is analysed to show the shifts in discursive positioning negotiated in the course of the conversation. The analysis of conversation through using the concept of discursive positioning as a research tool makes cultural influences visible in discourse in the very moment of their utterance. An approach to mediation that takes discursive power relations into account is then articulated. While a single conversation cannot change a pervasive social discourse, people can, in conversation, re-position themselves within discourse. This kind of analysis avoids constructing people as determined within discourse and supports a conceptualisation of personal agency achieved through discursive positioning. This study demonstrates the effect of using discursive positioning as a conceptual tool in practice through tracking the discursive shifts that take place in mediation. In the process, it establishes claims for narrative mediation as an ethical and effective practice that addresses power relations and cultural influences on relationships. The analysis of discursive positioning makes the effects of this practice visible and enables a theoretically robust account to be given of this practice.
This article is about how to apply narrative practices as tools for mediation in organizations. It offers a range of theoretical reflections that guide the use of narrative practices in this context and illustrates these points by analyzing an organization in conflict and a subsequent narrative mediation process. In particular, the paper discusses the implications of transferring narrative practices from a context of two-party mediation to an organizational context.
In this article, the author tells stories of relationship conflict in which the trajectory of the conflict narrative is disturbed by one of the participants instigating a shift to a different story line. He analyzes these shifts in terms of narrative theory and accounts for them in terms outlined in the narrative mediation literature, interrogating the knowledge called upon by the protagonists to initiate these narrative shifts. This knowledge seems to be pragmatic knowledge, local knowledge, and performative knowledge, with implications for professional practice. Practitioners are urged to be alert for opportunities to privilege such knowledge.
The use of disciplinary practices derived from restorative justice has recently been gaining popularity and inciting keen interest in the education community. Practices that have so far been introduced have tended to centre on conferencing, although there is a broadening range of other practices in schools that are being brought under the heading "restorative". This paper offers some reflections on these developments, building on the experiences of a team at the University of Waikato, which completed two projects on restorative conferencing in schools for the Ministry of Education under the rubric of the Suspension Reduction Initiative, and continues to develop understanding of the practices. The projects included developing and trialling processes for suspension hearings using restorative conferencing and principles from restorative justice. Objectives of both projects were related to the desire to reduce numbers of suspensions and exclusions, particularly of Maori children. We argue that the introduction of restorative practices invites schools into some tectonic shifts in thinking about offending behaviour, about community, and ultimately about the purposes of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of New Zealand Journal of Counselling is the property of New Zealand Association of Counsellors and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Grief is frequently thought of as an ordeal we must simply survive. This book offers a fresh approach to the negotiation of death and grief. It is founded in principles of constructive conversation that focus on remembering lives, in contrast to processes of forgetting or dismembering those who have died. Re-membering is about a comforting, life enhancing, and sustaining approach to death that does not dwell on the pain of loss and is much more than wistful reminiscing. It is about the deliberate construction of stories that continue to include the dead in the membership of our lives.
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