Narrative therapy approaches to team away days: Creating communities

Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2023 Jan;28(1):127-142. doi: 10.1177/13591045221119007. Epub 2022 Aug 17.

Abstract

'Away Days' in the National Health Service are a protected time away from usual tasks where a team comes together. They can have different intentions, including connecting team members and establishing team bonds. This paper describes using a Narrative Therapy approach called "The Journey of Life" to run away days. It involves thinking about the journey a team has been on and what has helped them along the way. It invites a team to think about their future directions and how they use skills they have learned when they face obstacles in the road ahead. The importance of preparing for away days, including establishing intentions, creating a feeling of safety and thinking about the role and positioning we adopt as team members ourselves is highlighted. We also outline the benefits we have observed, including a sense of community emerging through the process.

Keywords: Away days; creating communities; journey of life; narrative therapy; national health services staff support; staff support.

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Narrative Therapy*
  • State Medicine*