Healing Storytelling

This treasury of 101 new healing stories addresses a range of issues - from unruly behaviour to grieving, anxiety, lack of confidence, bullying, teasing, nightmares, intolerance, inappropriate talk, toileting, bedwetting and much more. The stories also have the potential for nurturing positive values.

The healing power of stories is a strong antidote to today's electronic screen world. Storytelling is an engaging, meaningful way of sharing our thoughts and feelings. As a path of self-development, storytelling awakens archetypal experiences, symbols and forces within for healing oneself and others. Nancy Mellon shows how to create a magical atmosphere for the telling of tales, how to use movement and direction within a story, how to set a storyscape, beginnings and endings, how to best use the rhythms of voice. Here are also the more subtle ingredients of storytelling including moods, the elements, seasons and the symbolism of magic words, objects and weapons which represent the external and archetypal forces in our world.

Five hundred years of colonization have taken an incalculable toll on the Indigenous peoples of the Americas: substance use disorders and shockingly high rates of depression, diabetes, and other chronic health conditions brought on by genocide and colonial control. With passionate logic and chillingly clear prose, author and educator Suzanne Methot uses history, human development, and her own and others’ stories to trace the roots of Indigenous cultural dislocation and community breakdown in an original and provocative examination of the long-term effects of colonization. But all is not lost. Methot also shows how we can come back from this with Indigenous ways of knowing lighting the way.

The healing power of stories is a strong antidote to today's electronic screen world. Storytelling is an engaging, meaningful way of sharing our thoughts and feelings. As a path of self-development, storytelling awakens archetypal experiences, symbols and forces within for healing oneself and others. Nancy Mellon shows how to create a magical atmosphere for the telling of tales, how to use movement and direction within a story, how to set a storyscape, beginnings and endings, how to best use the rhythms of voice. Here are also the more subtle ingredients of storytelling including moods, the elements, seasons and the symbolism of magic words, objects and weapons which represent the external and archetypal forces in our world.

"George W. Burns examines the healing value of using metaphors in therapy and provides 101 inspirational story ideas that therapists can adapt to share with clients for effecting change. He explains how to tell stories that engage the client, how to make them metaphoric, and where to find sources for such tales. Burns also shows readers how to build stories from personal experiences or their own imagination to use in session, making this thoughtful book an especially creative therapeutic tool."--BOOK JACKET.

Stories and narratives aimed at helping families work through an array of subjects like health, illness, grief, adoption, sexual identity, and school. The Healing Heart provides powerful examples of the use of stories and storytelling in encouraging resiliency, empathy, respect, and healing. These engaging books contain stories, and narratives about the use of the stories in activities with different populations (children, teens, those with disabilities, seniors, inmates, etc.) or which address specific social or community problems (addictions, poverty, violence, racism, environmental degradation, homelessness, abuse). The books are a collective effort containing the expertise of more than 60 storytellers and health professionals who illustrate the power of story in moving others to commitment and action, in building self-esteem and mutual respect. The Healing Heart ~ Families focuses on families, dealing specifically with healing through story, health promotion, disease prevention, early childhood intervention, children with medical problems, adopting families, schools, sexual identities, grief, and spiritual healing. The Healing Heart ~ Communities focuses on community-building, with sections on youth, violence prevention, poverty, domestic violence, substance abuse and addiction, racism, elders, culture, environmental protection, homelessness, and community development. Praise for The Healing Heart ~ Families “Both children and adults, sick or well, need the embrace of soulful storytelling. They need to witness and be witnessed, for it is in this state that healing occurs . . . . If newscasters were to read aloud each night to their listeners for 1,001 nights one of the stories from this treasury, we would all be healed and lose our fear, recapturing real security in our homeland.” —N. Michael Murphy, MD, author of The Wisdom of Dying “An extraordinary work . . . . Hit the bulls eye by providing both process and practice. Thought provoking and insightful theory is intertwined with appropriate stories for direct application. It makes clear that story can be a powerful catalyst for change, giving eloquent voice to what many of us have known for some time but have been unable to express. What a gift for those who work with families!” —Elizabeth Ellis, co-author of Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking about Difficult Stories

Beginning and ending - Movement and a sense of direction - Storyscapes - Journeying through the elements - Seasons and moods - Story characters - Power and protection.

A comprehensive guide to understanding and using storytelling in therapy with kids and teens "George Burns is a highly experienced clinician with the remarkable ability to create, discover, and tell engaging stories that can teach us all the most important lessons in life. With 101 Healing Stories for Kids and Teens, he strives especially to help kids and teens learn these life lessons early on, providing them opportunities for getting help and even learning to think preventively." -Michael D. Yapko, PhD | Author of Breaking the Patterns of Depression and Hand-Me-Down Blues "George Burns takes the reader on a wonderful journey, balancing metaphor, good therapeutic technique, and empirical foundations during the trip. Given that Burns utilizes all three aspects of the Confucian story referred to in the book-teaching, showing, and involving-readers should increase their understanding of how stories can be used therapeutically." -Richard G. Whiteside, MSW | Author of The Art of Using and Losing Control and Working with Difficult Clients: A Practical Guide to Better Therapy "A treasure trove for parents and for professionals in the child-development fields." -Jeffrey K. Zeig, PhD | Director, The Milton H. Erickson Foundation Stories can play an important and potent role in therapy with children and adolescents-helping them develop the skills to cope with and survive a myriad of life situations. In many cases, stories provide the most effective means of communicating what kids and teens might not want to discuss directly. 101 Healing Stories for Kids and Teens provides straightforward advice on using storytelling and metaphors in a variety of therapeutic settings. Ideal for all who work with young people, this unique resource can be combined with other inventive and evidence-based techniques such as play, art, music, and drama therapies as well as solution focused, hypnotic, and cognitive-behavioral approaches. Offering guidance for new clinicians and seasoned professionals, George Burns's latest work delivers a unique combination-information on incorporating storytelling in therapy, dozens of ready-made stories, and tips for creating original therapeutic stories. Innovative chapters include: * Guidance for effective storytelling * Using metaphors effectively * Where to get ideas for healing stories * Planning and presenting healing stories * Teaching parents to use healing stories In addition, 101 Healing Stories for Kids and Teens includes dozens of story ideas designed to address a variety of issues, such as: * Enriching learning * Teaching self-care * Changing patterns of behavior * Managing relationships, emotions, and life challenges * Creating helpful thoughts * Developing life skills and problem-solving techniques