November 2001 Newsletter
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November 2001 Newsletter |
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A Special Interest Group of The National Storytelling Network |
Newsletter 3, November 2000 Page 3 |
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Guidelines for Using Storytelling
Nevertheless, mounting evidence suggests that stories and the storytelling process can promote recovery, inspire hope, trigger insight and personal growth, in short, "heal." And a growing number of individuals feel challenged to work outside of entertainment venues, in prisons, hospitals, homeless shelters and with individuals in crisis and/or with special needs. The Special Interest Group for Storytelling as a Healing Art (HASIG) hopes to encourage discussion and the exchange of information about this kind of work, sometimes referred to as "applied storytelling." What are some basic issues to be considered here? How can this work best be accomplished? The following very preliminary guidelines are offered not as hard-and-fast directives but rather as a supportive overview to help individuals think about their role and responsibilities. 1. Trust the power of storytelling. Storytelling can be deeply therapeutic even when not necessarily offered as a therapeutic "modality." This derives from the nature of storytelling itself, the way in which, as a participatory group activity, it relates personal and group memory through metaphor and imagination. Remember to stay connected with the love of the stories you tell and have fun! That's much of where the healing comes in. 2. Set flexible goals and refer back to them. Tellers are advised to develop a set of goals as well as strategies for accomplishing them. Through the ongoing process of observation and conscious evaluation, storytellers may modify and reformulate these goals, thereby raising their work beyond the realm of vague good intentions to become more effective and articulate practitioners. 3. Practice self-assessment. Storytellers will want to develop an understanding of their own inner dynamics. What issues do stories touch in their own lives? Is there a particular type of story they tell repeatedly and if so, why? How do they perceive their role? Storytellers are advised not to attempt work in a healing situation when their own physical or emotional condition might be a detriment to their effectiveness. Those storytellers who are not trained therapists are urged to refrain from impinging on relationships between listeners and members of any given treatment team. 4. Understand your role. A storyteller can be described as a therapist only when trained as such, i.e., as a certified mental health professional such as a counselor or social worker. A storyteller working in a therapeutic setting will want to see direction and support from professional staff. 5. Foster staff involvement. Storytellers are advised to work with staff in order to determine the rules and customs of the setting as well as the goals for the storyteller's work. In this way they can complement and enhance the ongoing work of the treatment team. Frequently, staffs who are unfamiliar with storytelling in these settings may have unrealistic expectations about what the storyteller can accomplish. Storytellers will want to be clear about what they can and cannot offer. 6. Determine group needs. Storytellers will want to be sensitive to the emotional and developmental level of individuals they work with and to choose stories and story processes accordingly. If in doubt about how to do this, tellers are urged to enlist support from those more experienced. 7. Create safe space. "Safety" can include both physical and emotional aspects of the "storytelling event." This includes issues like confidentiality, encouragement of mutual respect among group participants, appropriate choice of material, sensitivity to dynamics within the group, care to achieve a sense of closure within the session. 8. Assess materials carefully. While storytellers cannot know how a story will be heard, they will want to attempt in advance to evaluate possible harmful effects a story might produce. At the same time, understanding that listeners will utilize defense mechanisms to "take what they need" from a story, storytellers are advised not to probe listeners for alternate meanings nor to insist on a given interpretation. 9. Monitor personal boundaries. While a degree of emotional involvement with listeners is inevitable, especially in longer term work, storytellers are advised to maintain an appropriate sense of boundaries. For example, storytellers would be mistaken to consider it their job to "rescue" listeners and should be wary of trying to promote and personal agenda that would be outside their stated purpose. 10. Strive for an informed perspective. The more storytellers know about the basic issues and needs of specialized groups, the more effective their work will be. Obviously one cannot become an instant expert in say, drug abuse prevention, but some basic knowledge can influence the multitude of intuitive decisions a storyteller will make. At the same time, those who hire tellers or work with them will greatly enhance their input by learning more about the art and craft of storytelling. 11. Seek a mentor. Applied storytelling demands sensitivity and ongoing reflection. Apart from on-site direction from staff, storytellers are urged to find a mentor or consultant with whom to discuss the complexities of this work. HASIG hopes to develop a list of experienced individuals who are willing to offer this kind of guidance. 12. Keep process notes. It is highly recommended that storytellers keep a written record of their work, especially for longer term residencies. Here they can assess their own processes and reactions, comment on what works or doesn't. They may also remark on the progress of various individuals or evaluate responses of the group as a whole in terms of goals they have set. This can become an ongoing learning experience, serving, too, as a basis for research and possible a model for others. This can also become a creative and fulfilling accomplishment! 13. Trust the power of storytelling. With a sound, informed judgement as the underlying basis for therapeutic work, remember, as stated in guideline 1, that the healing process originates with a love for the stories told and the joy of sharing them with others. Have fun! The spirit of creative play between teller, story, and listeners carries with it a richness of possibility. These guidelines have focused around work with traditional tales, folktales, fairy tales and myth. Slightly different issues may pertain where the focus in on personal narrative, a topic to be considered by HASIG in greater depth at a later date. In general our hope is that, as acknowledge base develops, more tellers will feel inspired to seek out challenging, new opportunities and then that they will share their experiences with the broader community. From Theory Into Action: A Case for Discussion During the summer of 2000, on Storytell, the online discussion of storytelling, an individual asked for stories to tell to a group of teen diabetics at a special summer camp. Storyteller Fran Stallings subsequently commented that she had just been listening to a radio program in which the commentator noted that teen years are especially hard for diabetics (type 1, childhood onset) because, on top of the special problems of diabetes, the teens are negotiating the predictable crises of adolescence. This being the case, the normal teenager’s urge to test boundaries and to take risks becomes displaced onto something as simple as the eating of a sugar donut. Fran commented that there was no reason for tellers to limit themselves to stories specifically about diabetes, illness, sugar, etc., for instance, Hansel and Gretel, as one contributor suggested. That would only emphasize pathology and over-identify the diabetic with the illness. Fran suggested, rather, a series of story themes relevant to this group's psychological and emotional issues and found commonly in story lore: willpower and temptation; cheating; problem solving; the value of persistence; the challenge of making difficult choices. She added, "Many of these stories are ‘trickster’ or ‘noodlehead’ stories; there is no reason they have to be serious. And hey, they are KIDS and they are at CAMP. They can get lectures from the camp nurse. From us they need STORIES!" Taking Fran's list of themes as a starting point, can you identify some stories for such groups? What would you do next? Note: These guidelines were developed in consultation with the HASIG Board of Directors. Thanks, too, for additional input from Karl Hallsten, Peggy Kenny, Staci Marinelli, Erica Meade, Mary Medlicott, Elisa Permain, Fran Stallings. For a more in-depth discussion of some of the ideas touched upon here, we recommend "A Journey Down the Healing Path through Story," by Allison Cox, which appears in Volume One of the SIG journal, Diving in the Moon: Honoring Story, Facilitating Healing. This journal is offered free with SIG membership or single copies are available from Gail Rosen (Gailstory@aol.com) for $8.00. plus mailing. Newsletter Contents:
Page 1. Gail’s Welcome - Founder Message |
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When the well-known American storyteller, Donald Davis, was asked, "How do you use stories in healing situations?" he replied, "I don't have that power. I just tell stories." His answer mirrors the sentiments of many within the storytelling community: keep it simple; don't complicate the issue; it should not be the business of storytellers to meddle as therapists, much less, healers.