ERIC Number: EJ843320
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Jul
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0194-472X
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Narrative and Collaborative Practices in Work with Families that Are Homeless
Fraenkel, Peter; Hameline, Thomas; Shannon, Michele
Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, v35 n3 p325-342 Jul 2009
This article reports on the use of narrative therapy ideas and practices in working with families that are homeless in a shelter-based, multiple-family discussion group program called Fresh Start for Families. It begins with a review of the challenges facing homeless families. It then briefly describes the collaborative methods used to develop the program. It then describes a range of practices and activities that provide opportunities for families to be witnessed in telling their stories of challenge and coping, to help and be helped by other families experiencing similar challenges, to reconnect and strengthen a positive sense of family identity while externalizing the constraining, stigmatizing descriptions associated with homelessness, and to envision and take steps towards their preferred futures.
Descriptors: Housing Needs, Homeless People, Discussion Groups, Family Counseling, Counseling Techniques, Personal Narratives, Group Discussion, Family Programs, Cooperative Planning, Program Development, Family (Sociological Unit), Social Bias
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A