How to create healing stories for distressed children - A masterclass in devising therapeutic metaphors

A masterclass in devising therapeutic metaphors

Why take this course 

Children’s natural affinity with stories gives us an incredibly powerful, non-directive way to help emotionally distressed and abused young people, who can sometimes be hard to reach in any other way.  On this practical workshop you will learn how to tap into your own metaphorical brain to create therapeutic stories and metaphors there and then that are appropriate to each individual’s circumstances and experiences.

Throughout the day Pamela – a master storyteller and highly experienced psychotherapist – draws on her own case histories and story examples as she guides you through the steps involved in ‘thinking on your feet’ and creating a story yourself in the moment.  By the end of the day you will have lots of new, innovative ways to engage with and help distressed children deal with the experiences they have had – whilst also offering them hope, understanding, and new ways of thinking and feeling about life and themselves.

Indeed, you may well be surprised at how quickly positive psychological changes occur as a result of the stories you will create and tell ‘in the moment’.

Stories also play a crucial role in child development – through the ways the different characters think, act and overcome difficulties, children gain important templates for understanding the world and dealing with the challenges and situations they will meet in life – both now and in the future. They are  a wonderful way to help build resilience.

Storytelling and the careful use of therapeutic metaphor are crucial elements of successful counselling and psychotherapy – they help bypass assumptions and rigid thinking to offer a new, broader way of looking at things, awaken innate resources and offer crucial hope – just what struggling children need…

What will you learn

• A clear understanding of how to address emotional issues in children
• Simple ways to calm and relax children – “it’s the way you tell ‘em”
• Tips for igniting your own imagination and creativity
• How to ‘think metaphor’ to find the right one for each situation
• A step-by-step guide to creating your own stories – the 6 steps for creating short stories with metaphors specifically tailored to quickly bring about positive psychological changes in children and young people
• Breathing life into inanimate objects and taking inspiration from nature – how to tune into your metaphorical mind Valuable experience in creating your own therapeutic story from scratch
• How to use your stories and metaphors
• The importance of paying attention to the words children use when telling you something
• Case histories which illustrate the effectiveness and flexibility of stories – and show why they are such powerful therapeutic tools, even with difficult cases
• How to find your own metaphors and connect them emotionally to distressing situations
• Using embedded suggestions in stories – exercise
• Different ways to use therapeutic stories, such as those in Pamela’s acclaimed Brighter Little Minds series, to develop emotional literacy
• The importance of incorporating all of our senses
• How to adapt stories to use with adolescents and adults
• Tips for thinking creatively ‘on your feet’ to come up with suitable metaphors and ideas there and then in the moment
• Flexible skills that can easily be adapted to working with adults
• Why subtly entwining a child’s interests into a story makes its impact stronger
• How to introduce a story or therapeutic metaphor naturally into your conversation
• Feedback on the story you create and time to ask questions of the tutor – a highly experienced and creative psychotherapist who has spent decades working therapeutically with distressed children and young people
• A greater appreciation of the subtle power of metaphor, imagination and embedded suggestions and how to use them to help the young people you care for
• Increased confidence in creating and telling therapeutic stories yourself
• A variety of story examples and ‘scripts’
• Lots of new ideas from Pamela Woodford’s ‘treasure chest of healing spells’ to spark your own creativity Tips for improving your own storytelling abilities and more... 

 Who is this course suitable for? 

Anyone working with emotionally distressed children or young people, including:

• Psychotherapists, therapists and counsellors
• Teachers and educational professionals
• Childcare and healthcare professionals (and students)
• Foster carers
• Adoptive parents – and perspective adoptive parents
• Social workers
• Parents and carers
• Interested friends or family who wish to help a young person they know
• And anyone who would like to attend for personal reasons

CPD Certificate: 6 hours

For more info and to book, head over to Human Givens College