Storytelling and Psychotherapy

We are a species of story tellers and the stories we tell are central to the development of our self-concept and identity. Stories have the power to move us – they bypass our busy analytical minds and bring us into a state of reverie. As therapists we know that psychotherapy is a process of listening to and telling stories, but sometimes the joy of story gets lost in the focus on the work. This is a playful, experiential workshop that gives therapists an opportunity to tell a story about themselves through a memory evoked in the context of a traditional folk tale. In the time of the Pandemic this is an opportunity for therapists to have fun, be moved, and meet themselves and others in a fresh way. Prepare to be surprised by new understandings that may emerge!

The learning opportunities in this workshop include:

• Let go the need for answers and outcomes and allow your unconscious to dwell in reverie
• Create immediacy and warmth through listening and telling stories
• Use metaphor to explore complex experiences and meaning making
• Explore playfulness and curiosity
• Develop deep listening from a space of reverie
• Return to yourself through story

Bio: Iseult White Iseult is an ICP/IAHIP accredited psychotherapist, mindfulness teacher, and advocate for trauma informed approaches to health. She works with adolescents and adults using evidence-based approaches to mental health. In addition to maintaining a private practice in Dublin she has worked in student counselling in Trinity College Dublin and Technology University Dublin. Her areas of speciality include eating disorders, trauma, dissociation, and anxiety. She teaches a workshop on Eating Disorders on the MA in Psychotherapy at Dublin Business School and is the author of The Mindfulness Workout: A guide to mental fitness for teenagers and the adults in their lives, published in 2017. She is a regular contributor on national radio discussing issues related to mental health and relationships.