How to tell stories that heal - A masterclass in therapeutic storytelling

Training from the Human Givens College

Why stories and metaphor are important

Stories can be incredibly powerful therapeutic tools. They help bypass rigid views about life, enhancing the listener's flexibility of thought. And by suspending ordinary constraints, they help people reclaim optimism whilst fueling their imaginations with the energy necessary to attain goals. In the physically ill, they can also stimulate the immune system and speed recovery.

This popular and empowering day explores stories that have a powerful beneficial effect on the mind/body system and teaches you how to source and tell such therapeutic tales yourself.

All successful psychotherapy and counselling involves storytelling and the appropriate use of metaphor, tapping into the natural way our brains work. We cannot know what goes on in another person’s mind but, if you perceive the ‘pattern’ of a story and understand that it could be useful to them at a specific point in their life, that is reason enough to tell it. Their unconscious, creative imagination will seek and find the ‘meaning’ relevant to their situation. No explanation, no direct statement of a story’s meaning can substitute for the way it acts on the hearer’s mind.

What you will gain from attending:

• A powerful way to stimulate optimism, hope and independence in distressed people
• A profoundly useful tool for getting through to people stuck in the black and white thinking of emotional distress
• Increased ability to source and tell therapeutic stories yourself
• A new love and deeper understanding of the value, resonances and resources within stories
• Enhancement of your own problem solving capacity, as well as being better able to help others with theirs
• A new way to motivate and engage people
• Insights into the mind/body communication system and an additional tool for promoting healing and recovery
• A great way to build rapport and bypass resistance
• Practical ways in which therapists, teachers, GPs, managers, policy planners etc can apply this knowledge to their work
• The ability to enhance flexibility of thought, creativity and confidence in your clients
• Greater confidence in dealing with a wide range of people – and a solid understanding of, and practise in, the therapeutic precision of metaphor
• Course notes, CPD Certificate and more...

Who should attend?

• Anyone involved in psychotherapy, counselling or social work who needs to harness the therapeutic power of metaphor by being an effective storyteller
• It is also valuable for the medical and nursing professions to know how to tell stories that lift depression and promote healing
• Anyone interested in the age-old power of metaphor and storytelling for professional or personal reasons

Price: £192 per person (inc. VAT, lunch, refreshments and course notes)

For more information and booking head to the Human Givens College Website HERE

• Get 15% OFF - bring a friend or colleague with you and you’ll both receive 15% off the training fee. Simply call the Human Givens office team on 01323 811690 to book your place