Collective narrative practice and the Tree of Life

Domain V · Systemic, relational, group & community · David Denborough, Ncazelo Ncube, Cheryl White · 2005 · Zimbabwe

What it is

Collective narrative practice is not a single therapy but a family of group and community methodologies developed by David Denborough and colleagues at Dulwich Centre Foundation (Adelaide), building on Michael White's narrative therapy, for responding to groups and communities facing significant…

Format

• This is a methodology set, not a staged course of therapy. The two fully described sequences are below, followed by the generic arc for a collective documentation project.
• Format: usually one full day (~8 h); may be split over two days, with the break between parts. Denborough's Soweto example is a single day.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Three-day camp with 23 young people from refugee backgrounds, then an evening ceremony with families: (1) framing with sport and football exercises; (2) collective team sheet; (3) individual team sheets; (4) celebrating collective goals already scored (goal maps and re-enactments); (5) future goals and training, only after past achievements are honoured; (6) definitional ceremony with family audience; (7)…
• Training and fidelity. No licence or certification requirement is stated. The CRS/REPSSI manual requires no university degree but asks that the lead counsellor have some psychosocial-support training, that every counsellor make their own tree and take part as a participant (ideally more than once), and that new counsellors co-facilitate several times with experienced ones before leading. Dulwich Centre runs Tree of…
• How change happens. People first stand in a "safe territory of identity" built from a valued everyday metaphor (a tree, a football team); from there a "second story" of skills, values, hopes, heritage and relationships is richly described, so that hardship can then be spoken about collectively and indirectly (through metaphor, as shared hazards rather than individual disclosure) without re-traumatising. Responses to…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Does it use a device, heat, cold, water or a physical procedure? Has a medical professional checked that it is safe for you?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Negative or mocking comments; only positive comments are allowed.
• Praise ("you're so brave") or advice; gently redirect to resonance.
• Generic certificates lose the effect; use the participant's own words.
• Avoid touch-based games with survivors of abuse unless clearly optional.
• Moving to resistance too quickly can feel dismissive; acknowledge first.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.