|
Workshop on "Therapeutic Uses
of Stories and Storytelling (Storytelling Therapy)" Workshop Description: The time has come for Storytelling Therapy to
take its place alongside Drama Therapy, Music Therapy, Visual Art Therapy,
and all of the other Arts Therapies.
This Workshop is an experiential introduction to the emerging field of
Storytelling Therapy. Participants would work with a wide range of
types of stories, including Personal-experience stories (such as the story of
one's life, and stories about eye-opening experiences), Grandmother stories
(including episodes of epics), and stories participants might make up (based
on memories, dreams, and imagination).
Stories present models of the past, and models
for the future. Storytelling Therapy
utilises Narrative Psychology. Storytelling can be defined as relating of a series of events to one or
more people. Ways in which the process
of storytelling can be therapeutic would be explored in this Workshop. Two aspects of storytelling are Narrating,
and Acting (speaking and moving as characters). The Workshop would feature
speaking/chanting/singing and movement activities. Storytelling Therapy involves exploration of,
discovery of, and connection with self, others, and the universe, perhaps
leading to transformation and healing. By beginning to use these methods with
themselves, participants could also begin to learn ways to use these methods
with others. In Storytelling Therapy, both
the therapist and the client tell stories.
This Workshop might be especially interesting to people who are, or
who might wish to become, Psychological Counsellors. The Workshop might also be useful for Life
Coaches, Life-skills Trainers (in Human Resource contexts), Teachers, Special
Education Teachers (including in relation to Hyperactivity / Attention
Deficit Disorder, Dyslexia, and Autism), and Parents. About
the Workshop Leader Dr Eric
Miller is a native New Yorker, transplanted to Chennai. He studied with and worked for numerous professional
storytellers in New York City, and completed a PhD in Folklore at the
University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia).
In NYC, he taught courses in Essay Writing, Writing about Literature
(Poetry, Short Stories, and Drama), Creative Writing, Public Speaking, and
Storytelling at St. John’s University, Fordham University, and New York
University. In Chennai, he has taught
at IIT-Madras, the University of Madras (Dept of Journalism and
Communication), and the Image College of Animation, Arts, and Technology. Dr Eric co-founded
and directs the World Storytelling Institute, www.storytellinginstitute.org
(the WSI is an NGO founded in Chennai in 2007). Dr Eric's general Storytelling Workshop for
adults is described here. Approximately 60 of Dr Eric's writings can
be found at his personal website, www.storytellingandvideoconferencing.com
. In recent
years, Dr Eric has developed an interest in Storytelling Therapy,
and is near-completing a Masters degree in Psychology (at the University of
Madras). He has completed a year-long
course in Counselling offered by the Chennai Counselors Foundation. Dr Eric is married to Ms Magdalene
Jeyarathnam, a Psychological Counsellor.
She is the Director, and he is the Assistant Director, of the East
West Center for Counselling and Training. Dr Eric can be contacted at, 98403 94282
|