A new conference is coming up that I would like to encourage you to attend if you haven’t signed up yet. It is called Conversation- Fest 2013. This conference is collaborated and co-hosted by Houston Galveston Institute and the Hincks Dellcrest Centre. See the link for further information: http://thewindsofchange.ca/en/

As you may know, there is always room for discussion and conversation on issues that matter to us. Complex issues -that we, practitioners, face in our therapeutic work with clients or with our colleagues or within the field of psychotherapy- need to be discussed and examined in a safe and respectful environment. This conference, i believe, is a great forum for sharing and exchanging ideas that could affect our livelihood as a person and as a practitioner.

In the recent years, new therapeutic approaches have emerged. New approaches that offer us perspectives and lenses on ‘how to’ talk about issues that matter to us. The new approaches are collaborative and relational approaches; they use non- pathalogizing language; and they promote the ‘not- knowing’ posture / position in therapeutic relationships.

Attending the conference, like Conversation- Fest 13, allows us to be more engaged in the dialogical process of exchanging knowledge; it allows us to have new understanding of what people experience in the process of therapy; it facilitates the development of new applications of collaborative, relational and narrative ideas in a variety of contexts.

The conference such this is an opportunity to invite, share and reflect on ‘hot and tough’ issues that we, practitioners, encounter in our work on a daily basis and that affect vicariously on our therapeutic relationships with clients.

I am very happy to be part of this conference. I will be having a presentation titled ‘story, documentation, change’; it is a presentation on the importance of documentation in the field of psychotherapy. I will be linking its importance to the recent ideas in therapy.  I will share stories of clients as well as their reflection on Narrative documentation.  My presentation is inspired by social constructionist ideas and Narrative therapy principles.  Looking forward to seeing you there.

Looking forward to making new connections and reconnecting with my colleagues and friends at the conference!

Happy Possibilities!

Tahereh Barati, M.A, RMFT