Narrative Therapy Approaches to Trauma: Elevating Agency, Resistance and Responses

Narrative Therapy Approaches to Trauma: Elevating Agency, Resistance and Responses 

This full day workshop examines Narrative Therapy approaches that empower individuals to reclaim their lives from trauma stories by uncovering alternative narratives of hope, acts of resistance, skills in living and surviving and the many unacknowledged ways in which people respond to hardship. We will challenge the taken-for-granted understandings in mainstream trauma discourse and explore how to shift the focus from trauma to the many unacknowledged ways people respond to hardship. Participants will learn and practice key techniques such as double-listening and response-based inquiry, equipping them to engage in conversations that are non-retraumatizing and that uncover people’s responses to violence and oppression.

• OASW Members Early-Bird (ends January 13, 2025)$179 
• Non-members: $299

REGISTER HERE

Presented by the Ontario Association of Social Workers and Angel Yuen, MSW, RSW

Angel Yuen works as a narrative therapist, teacher, supervisor and consultant in alternative-private practice in the Greater Toronto Area. Angel’s previous work spanning three decades included experiences in school, community, and adult and children’s mental health settings. As faculty of the Narrative Therapy Centre Angel has facilitated several narrative workshops on ‘Responding to Trauma’ locally, internationally and virtually. Within these spaces she continually is honoured to share hopeful stories, skills and wisdom of the people of all ages who have re-authored trauma stories. She is the author of the 2019 book ‘ Pathways beyond despair: Re-authoring lives of young people through narrative therapy ’. Angel has also published papers re: narrative ideas and responding to trauma including Less Pain More Gain: Explorations of responses versus effects when working with the consequences of trauma (2009).

The Ontario Association of Social Workers (oasw.org) is the voice of the social work profession in Ontario. It is a voluntary, bilingual, non-profit association representing 9,500+ social workers. OASW works to actively speak on behalf of social workers on issues of interest to the profession and advocates for the improvement of social policies and programs directly affecting social work practice and client groups served. OASW also offers high-quality, free or low-cost professional development opportunities to social workers and other health and mental health care providers through our OASW Learning Centre (olc.oasw.org).