Posted on: 22 July 2024
CNWL’s Collective Narrative Practice Conference for Psychological Professions
"Communities have unique ways of providing care and support to those who are vulnerable. It’s essential to draw from these practices to create therapeutic experiences that resonate culturally.”
Keynote speaker Ncazelo Ncube-Mlilo, delivered a powerful talk at the Trust’s Collective Narrative Practices Conference, where colleagues from various psychological professions gathered to explore how culturally sensitive therapeutic approaches can be integrated into their work.
Hosting the event at the Tabernacle was particularly significant, given the venue’s connection to Notting Hill Carnival and the rich heritage of West Indian and Caribbean culture. The history, with its roots of resilience and collective healing tied perfectly with the themes of the conference.
Collective Narrative Practice
Collective narrative practice is an emerging field, focusing on therapeutic approaches that emphasise the power of community knowledge in healing from trauma and social suffering.
At the core of these practices is the belief that people are the experts of their own lives. This approach values the wisdom and skills inherent within communities that can help people recover, often overlooked in traditional approaches to counselling and psychology.
Ncazelo is a Zimbabwean psychologist and pioneer in this field, who has spent most of her career developing culturally resonant mental health interventions.
This includes the evolution of a leading psychotherapeutic approach known as ‘The Tree of Life’, which was born out of her work in South Africa with children, young people and families in the context of HIV/Aids, poverty and conflict.
“It’s a bottom up approach that locates expertise within communities. They hold the keys that we can draw from. Sometimes the dominant narrative is that minority communities don’t want therapy. That’s not the case. They’re open to something that is more culturally appropriate such as dance or music.”
Tree of Life is used in over 30 countries, including the UK. CNWL’s psychological professions has worked with Ncazelo before as part of a training programme using her home-grown strategies.
To end her keynote, Ncazelo encouraged attendees to think about their own practice, and how we can tackle the disconnects between mental health services and ethnic minority communities.
“It’s about recognising that local communities possess a wealth of knowledge that often goes untapped by traditional health services. Co-creating ways of responding to trauma not only respects the cultural context but also empowers them to take an active role in their healing journey. By doing so, we bridge the gap between clinical approaches and lived experiences.”
Midaye Somali Development Network
The conference also highlighted social projects and partnerships that are championing collective narrative practice.
Midaye – meaning unity – is a grassroots organisation set up back in 2002 by a group of Somali mothers from West London. They had recently arrived in the area, forced to flee civil unrest in their homeland.
At the time, the Somali community in West London was small and there was little support. In response they developed Midaye, and today they are dedicated to helping migrant ethnic minority communities in the area.
The network provides a range of community-led activities; getting active, sewing, cooking and peer support groups, including support for mothers for children with additional needs. They also run groups using the Tree of Life, Recipes of Life and Ncazelo Ncube-Mlilo’s COURRAGE methodology, which have been instrumental in helping Somali women heal and connect with each other while finding their identity in a new country.
“Our model uses co-production from the ground up, honouring everything we know about the Somali community. The Somali community heals together, and much of this healing occurs through groups where they share stories and connect with others through food, music, and celebration,” said Filsan Ali, Director of Midaye.
Joining Filsan and her colleagues Hanan and Hayat on stage was a group of seven graduates who spoke passionately about the lessons they gained from the programme, proudly wearing matching graduate gowns they had crafted in a sewing group.
“Sharing power has worked well. Encouraging leadership from participants in the groups and training programmes empowers them to take over and become agents of change,” she said.
Finding Rhythms
Finding Rhythms is a music-based project underpinned by narrative therapy that has been supporting young black men in Harrow facing severe mental health difficulties with huge successes.
With support from a team led by Dr Shona Herron, Senior Clinical Psychologist, the project invites the men to collaborate with professional music producers and singers to write an album of original music, helping them to express their emotions together and rebuild trust in health services.
At the event, two songs from their albums, ‘Hotter Than Water’ and ‘Every Effort Counts’, were played to a captive audience. The albums are available to listen and stream on Spotify now.
“Feedback has been excellent, with the men reporting feeling safe and understood in the group, as well as increasing in confidence and overall wellbeing,” said Shona.
We heard testimonials from Jacob, who participated in the second cohort of Finding Rhythms, who said he has “thrived within the project”.
Grenfell Health and Wellbeing Service
To close the day, colleagues highlighted the importance of collective narrative practice within Grenfell, and how these methods are instrumental in addressing the trauma experienced by the community.
Team members Anjilee Sudra (Senior CBT and EMDR Therapist), Sheila Ravindran (Senior Integrative Psychotherapist, CBT and EMDR Therapist) and Jesse Lebby (Assistant Psychologist), shared how they have used the Tree of Life framework to support their staff, and their adaptions to the ‘of Life’ groups (Tree of Life, Team of Life and Recipes of Life).
More information
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If you have questions, you’re welcome to contact our team at cnwl.psychology@nhs.net