Part 1: Narrative Therapy Approaches to Trauma (Sept 18-19_ 2025)
Part 1: Narrative Therapy Approaches to Trauma (Sept 18-19_ 2025)
Event Date
September 18, 2025
Event Time
10:30 am
Event Location
This is an ONLINE EVENT, Hosted on Zoom, Eastern Time CANADA US
Event Description
An online learning for those new to the ideas and practices of narrative therapy, and also to those familiar and wanting a refresher and/or inoculation to narrative ideas with a focus on responding to trauma.
10:30 AM to 4:30 PM (both days)
Convert to your time zone here
Facilitated by Tiffany Sostar and Angel Yuen
Early rate $320 until August 19, 2025
Regular rate $360 thereafter
‘I thought I was supposed to dig deep in order to resolve my abuse’
‘I just thought that in order to start feeling better that it had to get worse first. I thought because I have never talked about this [sexual abuse] with anyone before, that I needed to tell you and ‘finally get it out’. And that is was all just part of the therapy process.’
‘As they say…no pain no gain!’?
(Yuen, 2009. p. 10-11)
Do any of these statements sound familiar? It’s not uncommon for people suffering from the consequences of trauma to take on such taken-for-granted understandings of the trauma healing process. But what if we were to consider an alternative notion? How about less pain, more gain?
Narrative Therapy approaches assist people in reclaiming their lives from the effects of trauma and suggest that there is always another story. These are often subordinated stories of connection, hope, cherished values, acts of resistance, skills in living and the many unacknowledged ways in which people respond to hardship.
Part 1 of this online training will:
- provide an overview of the ideas that shape Narrative Therapy
- explore the taken-for-granted understandings of trauma and PTSD
- challenge the ‘no pain no gain’ trauma healing discourse
- offer ways to engage in conversations about trauma that are not retraumatizing
- discover people’s responses to violence and oppression
Multiple modes of learning will be used to facilitate this online event including practice-based narrative exercises, video, breakout rooms and wider discussion.
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About Angel Yuen (she/her)
Angel works as a narrative therapist and clinical supervisor in alternative-private practice in Durham region of the Greater Toronto Area. She also offers tailored narrative trainings and consultation to many organizations. Angel’s previous work spanning three decades included experiences in school, community, and adult and children’s mental health settings.
Angel has facilitated several narrative workshops locally, internationally and more recently virtually. Within these spaces she continually is honoured to share hopeful stories, skills and wisdom of the people who consult with her. As a member of the Dulwich Centre international faculty in Adelaide, Australia Angel is part of their team for the Master of Narrative Therapy and Community Work program. Angel is the author of the 2019 book titled’ Pathways beyond despair: Re-authoring lives of young people through narrative therapy. She also is co-editor with Cheryl White of the 2007 book Conversations about gender, culture, violence and narrative practice: Stories of hope and complexity from women of many cultures. Angel has also published the following papers re: narrative ideas and responding to trauma: Discovering Children’s Responses to Trauma: a response-based narrative practice (2007) and Less Pain More Gain: Explorations of responses versus effects when working with the consequences of trauma (2009).
About Tiffany Sostar (they/them)
Tiffany Sostar (they/them) is a narrative therapist and community worker living as an uninvited guest on Treaty 7 land (in Calgary, Alberta, Canada). They love collective narrative practice and documentation, and are interested in the ways collective narrative practice overlaps and intersects with legacies of queer and feminist zine culture. They graduated from the Master of Narrative Therapy and Community Work program in 2018 and enjoy being an ongoing part of the program as a faculty member and subject designer in Canvas. Tiffany is queer, non-binary, non-monogamous, and disabled, living in lots of liminal spaces, and interested in working in these spaces.
Recently, as hostility towards the trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming communities continued to escalate, Tiffany’s community lost two cherished trans community members, Bekett and Theda. For the next long while, they are undertaking a series of community work projects responding to these losses and hoping to create a body of narrative responses in support of trans lives.
This program will be relevant for a diversity of service providers including counsellors, therapists, community workers, child protection workers and mental health practitioners working in settings such as victim and crisis services, private practice, hospitals, women’s shelters, sexual assault centers, schools, Violence Against Women (VAW) organizations, and other community-based and social service agencies. This workshop is relevant to those working with adults (including adults who are survivors of childhood sexual abuse), young people and children.
- Anyone new to the ideas and practices of narrative therapy
- Anyone familiar with and already using narrative practices who wants a refresher and/or inoculation to narrative ideas with a focus on responding to trauma.
Certificates of Training can be requested at the end of the online workshop and will state 9.5 hours of narrative therapy training. Certificates can be used to qualify for eligibility for continuing education credits from professional colleges and licensing boards. Please contact your own college or association to confirm requirements.
STUDENTS – At checkout in ‘discount code’ enter STUDENT10. Also in the ‘additional info’ box please include your student info – i.e.: Name of institution and program of study
For groups of 3 or more, please register together in one transaction and at checkout in ‘discount code’ enter GROUP10. One main person can be registrant, and please type info (name, email, address) for other group members in additional info box
Cancellations will be accepted if requested at least 14 days prior to the event via email to contact@narrativetherapycentre.com. A 10% admin fee will be deducted from the amount to be refunded.
We regret that a refund cannot be offered after the cancellation date, but a colleague may be substituted for attendance.
Extend the learning on October 2-3, 2025
Click here for Part 2 workshop details and registration