Library
Resources & Reading
A curated collection of guides, books, and links to support clients on their journey and practitioners in their work — all grounded in narrative therapy and related practices.
Guides
Helpful Guides
Free online guides and articles to help you understand narrative therapy and related approaches.
What is Narrative Therapy?
An introductory guide to the principles, language, and practices of narrative therapy for people considering counselling.
For ClientsExternalising Problems
A practical explanation of externalising conversations and how separating the problem from the person opens space for change.
For ClientsInvitational Accountability
An overview of invitational practices for accountability with people who have used violence or controlling behaviours.
For PractitionersReading
Recommended Reading
Key texts in narrative therapy and invitational practice — for those who want to go deeper.
Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends
Michael White & David Epston · 1990
The foundational text that introduced narrative therapy to the world.
Maps of Narrative Practice
Michael White · 2007
A practical guide to the major maps used in narrative conversations.
Re-Authoring Lives: Interviews & Essays
Michael White · 1995
Collected conversations on identity, trauma, and therapeutic practice.
Playful Approaches to Serious Problems
Jennifer Freeman, Dean Lobovits & David Epston · 1997
Narrative therapy with children — creative and imaginative techniques.
Becoming Ethical: A Parallel Journey with Men Who Abuse
Alan Jenkins · 2009
A foundational text on invitational accountability and ethical practice with men who use violence — essential reading for practitioners in this field.
Narrative Therapy: Responding to Your Questions
Maggie Carey & Shona Russell · 2023
An accessible and rich resource answering the most common questions practitioners and students have about narrative therapy.
What is Narrative Therapy?
Alice Morgan · 2000
A clear and engaging introduction to narrative therapy — widely used as a starting point for students, clients, and practitioners new to the approach.
Inspiration
Intellectual Inspiration
Foundational articles and thinking that inform our therapeutic philosophy and language.
From Safe Spaces to Brave Spaces
Brian Arao & Kristi Clemens · 2013
A New Way to Frame Dialogue Around Diversity and Social Justice. This essay challenges the traditional language of "safe space" and proposes the concept of "brave space" — emphasising courage, authentic engagement, and accountability over the illusion of comfort-as-safety.
Download PDF
A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia (Vol. 2)
Gilles Deleuze & Félix Guattari · 1980
University of Minnesota Press. A foundational philosophical text whose concepts of rhizome, assemblage, and lines of flight have deeply informed post-structural thinking in therapy, identity, and relational practice.
Bibliography
Further Reading
Key texts we study, consult and extend in our narrative and invitational practice.
Lear, J. (2006). Radical Hope: Ethics in the face of cultural devastation. Harvard University Press.
Pare, D. A., & Larner, G. (Eds.). (2012). Collaborative Practice in Psychology and Therapy. Routledge, Taylor & Francis group.
Waldegrave, C., Tamasese, K., Tuhaka, F., & Campbell, W. (2003). Just Therapy—A Journey: A collections of papers from the Just Therapy Team, New Zealand. Dulwich Centre Publications.
Weedon, C. (1997). Feminist practice and Poststructuralist theory (Second). Blackwell Publishing.
White, M. (2007). Maps of Narrative Practice. Norton. wwnorton.com
White, M. (2004). Narrative Practice and exotic lives: Resurrecting diversity in everyday life. Dulwich Publications.
& Any reader on Michel Foucault
& For Family Therapy Context and Journey, one of the best reads is a personal story documenting the beginnings to new emergences including Narrative Therapy throughout the distinguished career of family therapist Lynn Hoffman.
Hoffman, L. (2001). Family Therapy: An Intimate History. Wiley. wiley.com
Evidence
Research & Evidence
Published papers, research reports, and evidence informing our practice across three core areas.
The following sections will be updated with published papers, reports, and peer-reviewed research as they are made available. Where papers are hosted externally, links are provided. Where PDFs are uploaded directly, they are available to download.
Practice-based-Evidence-based-Practice*
Narrative and Accountability practices have Practice-based Evidence. Counselling practitioners, working with clients, reflect and counter-reflect about their clients, their practice and what is both helpful and ethical. Narrative Invitational Practices pay attention to where subtle acts of power are either made-visible or taken-for-granted in the form of 'expertise'. For as long as Counselling, Psychology and Therapy have existed as professions, therapeutic practice has always led theory which has developed the notion of "documented evidence." Particular collections of documented evidence are driven by academic research interests which have professionally separated from practitioners' work with clients. Invitational Narrative practices work to deconstruct power and its effects, and as such is a living project and process through every conversation.
* Practice-based-Evidence-based-Practice — a concept attributed to narrative therapist Chris Dolman, informed by Glenn Larner, ‘Family Therapy and the Politics of Evidence’ (ANZJFT, 2004).
Feeding the Philo-therapeutic Soul
Good therapy is fed by a wide and restless curiosity. Adelaide Narrative practitioners cast a broad net — drawing from philosophy and anthropology, sociology and political theory, social justice movements and the history of science, literature and poetry, visual art, music, culture, and even the rituals of sport. This is not eclecticism for its own sake. It is a recognition that the acts of living and relating are rich, varied, and deeply particular — that a person's life is not a clinical presentation but a world. To meet someone in their world, a therapist must themselves inhabit many worlds, staying genuinely curious about how meaning is made, how identity is formed under pressure, how communities hold and sometimes wound their members, and how the human spirit finds expression in the most unexpected corners of experience. The philo-therapeutic soul is one that refuses to stop learning — from the streets as much as the seminar room, from a poem as much as a research paper.
Invitational Accountability to Abuse and Violence
Research and practice evidence on invitational and narrative approaches to working with people who use violence, coercive control, and abuse in intimate and family contexts.
Engaging Men Who Use Violence: Invitational Narrative Approaches — Key Findings and Future Directions
Wendt, S., Seymour, K., Buchanan, F., Dolman, C., & Greenland, N.
ANROWS Research to Policy and Practice, Issue 05 | October 2019
Download PDFHow Do We Engage Men Who Use Violence? — Symposium Presentation
Wendt, S., Seymour, K., Buchanan, F., Dolman, C., & Greenland, N.
ANROWS Symposium, Adelaide, 11 November 2019
Download PDFNarrative & Collaborative Therapies
Published papers and evidence supporting narrative therapy, collaborative practice, and post-structural approaches across therapeutic contexts.
The Systemic Field: Family Therapy
Research and scholarship from the field of family and systemic therapy, including evidence on family intervention, systemic approaches, and relational practice.
Frameworks for Practice in the Systemic Field: Part 1 — Continuities and Transitions in Family Therapy Knowledge
Flaskas, C.
The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, Vol. 31 No. 3, 2010, pp. 232–247
Download PDFFrameworks for Practice in the Systemic Field: Part 2 — Contemporary Frameworks in Family Therapy
Flaskas, C.
The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, Vol. 32 No. 2, 2011, pp. 87–108
Download PDFLinks
Useful Links
Trusted organisations and services for support, information, and professional development.
Re-Authoring Teaching
The global learning community of narrative therapy practitioners, teachers, and students — founded by Peggy Sax. Training, courses, and a rich archive of narrative practice.
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy
Peer-reviewed research and practice articles on family therapy, published by Wiley.
Narrative Practices India
A collective exploring narrative ideas and practices in diverse contexts across India, with training, community work, and a commitment to collective accountability.
Narrative Approaches (David Epston)
David Epston's archive of narrative therapy papers, resources, and practice documents — a primary source for narrative practitioners worldwide.
Narrative Therapy Centre (Toronto)
Training programs and community resources from a leading narrative therapy centre.
International Journal of Narrative Therapy
Peer-reviewed practice papers, research, and reflections from practitioners worldwide.
Adelaide Domestic Violence Service
Support and resources for people experiencing family and domestic violence in South Australia.
Family Relationships Online
Australian Government resource for families navigating separation, parenting, and family law.
Beyond Blue
Mental health support, information, and crisis resources for all Australians.
PACFA — Psychotherapy & Counselling Federation of Australia
The peak body for counselling and psychotherapy in Australia — professional standards, registration, and the national practitioner register.
AAFT — Australian Association of Family Therapy
The professional association for family therapists in Australia, promoting excellence in systemic and family therapy practice.
AASW — Australian Association of Social Workers
The professional body representing social workers across Australia, upholding ethical standards and advocating for social justice.