CaNOX

It was midnight. Everyone was asleep when a group of small animals scurried across the grounds of the forest. "Is everyone here...?" asked the biggest animal of the group quietly. "Yes" whispered the second largest animal. Before the group of animals knew it, dawn broke through the trees and they stood in their tracks to admire the enchanted view that stretched across their vary eyes. "This is it!...this is where we will call home" exclaimed the biggest of the lot in a triumphant tone.


The group of small animals were a family of skunks who traveled far and arrived at the very middle of Lution forest, a forest teeming with life and food. They would never become hungry again. The group consisted of a papa skunk, mama skunk and among them was a small baby name Canox barely a few months old.

The skunk family thus settled into Lution forest and quickly established their home. Everything was perfect whereby there was a nice little river for them if they were thirsty, fruit trees nearby in case they were hungry, and a wide space for little Canox to run around.

Everything was going smoothly for the skunk family when the inevitable seemed to fall upon them. Mama skunk went missing. Baby Canox who was still small didn’t know what happened that day and took upon himself to ask papa skunk “Papa where’s mama? It’s getting late and mama still isn’t home yet”. Papa skunk at that moment in time could only looked at little Canox; rubbed with his sad face, turned around and walked away.
Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years.

Mama skunk did not return and Canox grew into a very quiet shy and withdrawn skunk. He never knew what happen to mama skunk and thus blamed himself and everything around him for causing mama skunk to run away.

In school, Canox kept to himself. Also, because he was a skunk, most students would keep their distance due to stories told by their parents that skunks were smelly creatures and they originated from a smelly place. All these rumours did not go down well with Canox and only made him more withdrawn and reserved. The only friends he had were a squirrel named Qwert and a mouse named Poiuy.

The three of them would always be together before school and after school. If there was any gathering among students, the three friends would always be seen together. “Oh, look it’s those three again” students would say when they passed by. It did not help the situation as Canox, Qwert and Poiuy were extremely shy and kept to themselves when separated.

One day the school bully Weasel along with his gang approached the three friends after school. Weasel and gang cornered them at the school gate; “Hey there Canox, Qwert, Poiuy...” said Weasel in a sly tone. “Where you of too?” asked a member of the gang. The three friends stammered and said they were going home to do a school project together. Weasel then said “ok, well I think you need some protection from us and you Canox will have to give us 5 berries, you Qwert and Poiuy 5 nuts each... You better pay up or else...!” Weasel said aloud to the three friends and left.

The three friends did not know what to do and were afraid of what would happen if they didn’t pay up. Thus, from that day onwards, Weasel and gang would collect 5 berries from Canox and 5 nuts each from Qwert and Poiuy every morning before school starts at the gate.

This situation went on for months without anyone knowing. Weasel knew that extorting from this particular group would be beneficial because they were timid and would not tell anyone of their ordeal.
This was true because one afternoon, papa skunk noticed that Canox lost some weight. Papa skunk asked “Canox, is anything wrong? You seem to be thinner, eating well in school?” and all Canox could reply was “yes pa, everything is ok” and this situation also applied to Poiuy and Qwert.

One particular day after school, Canox was walking slowly back home because he was hungry and had no energy to run. He was walking through a patch of tall grass when he heard some commotion going on. He peeped through the long grass and saw that Weasel and gang were beating up Poiuy and Qwert. Apparently, Poiuy was having trouble giving 5 nuts to Weasel and it was going on for 3 days. Thus Weasel decided to show them he meant business. Qwert was beaten up because he tried to stop Weasel and gang from beating Poiuy.


Canox watched in horror as his friends got beaten up and suddenly one member of the gang spotted Canox. The gang members turned to face Canox and rushed to catch him too. Canox was now cornered and Weasel the head of them said “oh... you saw... well we’ll teach you a lesson so that you’ll keep your mouth shut!” thus the whole gang started to beat Canox.

Canox screamed in pain and anger built inside of him. Suddenly canox could not control anymore and screamed loud with anger!! For a few moments there was silence and everything seemed blurry. After regaining focus, Canox saw that Weasel and gang were on the ground choking and pinching their noses. After a few seconds they realized Canox was looking at them and suddenly the whole gang ran like the wind and soon enough they disappeared from sight.


Canox did not know what happened and when he went up to see his friends, he noticed that their jaws were opened and that they were staring at him. Poiuy exclaimed “you saved us, you’re our hero Canox”. Canox was confused because from his friends explanation, he was said to have let out a spray of gas that choked the entire gang causing them to run away.
The three friends walked home fearing no more of Weasel. When Canox reached home, papa skunk saw him in bruises and asked immediately “Canox what happened to you?!” Canox then started explaining to papa skunk exactly what happened and also how his friends told him that he saved their lives.

After hearing Canox’s ordeal papa skunk told him in a quiet manner “son, follow me... I want to show you something”. Papa shunk then lead Canox on a small pathway. After a while they reached a garden where beautiful flowers were growing from a mound on the ground. There was a little wooden plate with the words: May peace be with you My Love...and that was when papa skunk explained to Canox what happened to his mama.

Apparently on that unfortunate day, a snake was slithering around and spotted baby Canox playing. Before the snake could prey on Canox, mama skunk came in between Canox and sprayed the snake. The snake out of anger used its tail to hit mama skunk because of the putrid smell. Mama skunk was thrown off the ground and its head hit on a rock and she died...

Finally Canox came to know on that dreadful day mama skunk gave her life to save him. Canox now knew that he was given a special weapon within; that is the ability to secrete a putrid smelling gas at predators.
Papa skunk then went on to say “Son, because you now know you have a special weapon, you cannot use it always... with great power comes great responsibility”

From that day onwards, Canox was a different skunk all together. He was sociable, more outgoing, and not withdrawn like how he used to be. Canox knew what happened to his mama and it was not his fault that she died. Also, he found his true purpose in life which is to protect his friends and himself from danger.


The moral of the story is to be able to stand up for oneself and not react when it is too late. One must know how to be assertive at the right time yet practice kindness and compassion for all.

~ the end ~

Gan-en=grateful

In this post, I would like to say Gan-en to Seok Binn, I-link and Melinda for helping me to complete 2/3 of the story telling assignment, less the puppet show. My heart felt thanks to SeokBinn for sending me the links to Audacity and Lame
...Bravo!I managed to download Audacity and got my voice recorded.Then I m lost as to how to post it on my blog. I-ling helped to convert to an mp3 file and put on Internet Archive and finally posting it on the blog. I am lost here... To Melinda for the motivation to strive on ... and Phaik Nie for keeping us updated on available links in "Storytelling".

prince khema storytelling

hiya...
my audio

The Lonely Prince Khema ~

Character:

A long time ago in the kingdom of Sati lived a lonely Prince named Khema. Prince Khema was the only son of King Vama and Queen Suria. When Prince Khema was born, King Vama and Queen Suria were very happy and at the same time became very protective of him too. Being their only son and heir to the throne, King Vama made sure that Prince Khema had the best of what was available so that he will be happy. Unknowingly Prince Khema became self centered and selfish while growing up and he wondered why?

Task: Prince Khema wished to be a wise king when he takes over from his father. However the years of loneliness made him felt he was incompetent. Yet at the same time he was fighting with himself that he needed to have someone who could give him the magic power and wisdom.

Obstacle: He called for a meeting with Savin his personal attendant… “Tell me Sarvin, how can I be happy? I find one part of my heart missing, sometimes it made my breathing difficult and my heart is in pain. At times I felt sad and lonely... How can I be a wisdom king one day or is there a magic potion available...? (sigh...)

Sarvin: “No…no… my prince don’t feel this way… You will be our wisdom king…we will seek the help of Baloo, the wise man. He will come if we invite him… I will send Koki (the bird) to inform him. He stayed in Mt Serai.”(pointing out to the range of mountains).

Prince Khema: “Quick, summon for Baloo to come immediately. This lonliness is too much to bear and making me very very sad and lonely, being trapped all these years!!"

That night, Prince Khema had a strange dream. He was tossing in bed. Suddenly he sat up, sweat trickled from his forehead and panting heavily. He touched his body and realized that it was a dream and heaved a sigh of relief. Prince Khema called out “Guards…Guards… “(from his chamber). They came running in; “Yes Prince Khema..."(kneeling before him). Heavy footsteps followed, it was Sarvin who rushed over to see Prince Khema when being informed. Sarvin helped Prince Khema to prepare for the morning though it was still dawn.

Helper: Prince Khema related to Sarvin what he experienced in his dream.

“I saw myself at the foot of a mountain where I stood, the other side was a cliff! I seemed trapped here and the only way out was to follow a light flickering from a far on the mountain… Someone must be staying there…I called out, but no one seemed to hear me. It was cold, dark and slippery. The flickering light seemed out of reach. Will I ever reached it? At the same time the light gave me the HOPE to strive on.
As I climbed up the mountain I slipped many times...I got up again. When I felt breathless; I stopped… grounded myself, take a breather and slowly walked again. I could not remember how long it took; I kept on walking ahead. At one point I just can't take another step. The load is so heavy on my shoulders. The loneliness and sadness embedded over the years seemed to be lighter at every step I made forward.
Suddenly the flickering light was in front of me! The air around was warm and had a fresh scent of bunga melor flowers... I stopped and saw an old man sat on a stool surrounded by abundant rows of white color bunga melor. He gave me a warm smile and invited me to sit beside him. The features of the old man fitted those of wise man Baloo which Sarvin mentioned to me. He had long silvery hair, blue eyes and a big smile...He was dressed in white flowing robes.

Turning Point: Yes, he was wise man Baloo, he must have received the message from Koki the bird. He spoke to me in a strange language… however I was able to understand what he said. The sparkle of light in me lit up. The words from wise old man Baloo:

" The magic power that comes with our humanity isn’t a shield protecting us from misfortune but an inner strength that helps us deal with it, overcome it, and learn from it so we can still find love, laughter, and joy despite it.

At our lowest moments, there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. All we need is the faith and moral courage to find the spark within that, with just a puff of hope, can become a flame bright enough to show us the way out.

“We could bear any burden if we thought there was a meaning to what we were doing.The bad things that happen do not have a meaning or happen for any good reason which would cause us to accept them willingly. But we can give them a meaning.”

In the midst of despair, being reminded that tomorrow is another day provides no comfort because it’s hard to believe tomorrow will be any better. But Tomorrow is the doorway to the future, and that’s where we’ll live the rest of our lives.

It leads us to discover sources of consolation we never knew before, and then we make the person into a witness for the affirmation of life rather than its rejection.

Prince Khema was overwhelmed with tears when he finished telling his encounter with wise man Baloo. Since then he had learned to overcome his loneliness and found happiness with himself and his people. The wisdom words of Baloo continues to ring in his ears.

Aftermath: Prince Khema became King Khema some years later when King Vama passed on. King Khema became the wisdom king and brought joy and happiness to the people in the kingdom of Sati.

~ The end ~

*The story of the Lonely Prince was written on a 6part story format. At times of sadness, stories emerged and the storyteller has to find strength and meaning to the story told, journeying with the Lonely Prince in search of an answer .........

The Magic Stone

In the village of Dama there was a little girl named Mudit; a bubbly and cheerful girl. She loved to read and thus helped her to be a good story teller for the other children in the village. They gathered under the old Angsa tree in the late afternoon which had its branches spreading wide giving shade and warmth to the children while listening to Mudit telling stories. Sometimes they acted on the stories being told to the older folks in the village. It was always a joy to the old folks to see the children’s giggle, laughter and acts as they amused them.

One fateful night when all was quiet and calm in Dama village, the sound of thunder and flashes of lightning continuously woke the villagers. It looked as though the gates in heaven were opened as rain came in sheets onto this village. The next moment the water level in the village continued to rise …up and up…to the door, the windows and the roof.

In Mudit’s home, the water level was rising from the ground. Mudit had a cat, Cittas and she put it in a cloth bag, strapped it closed to her body. First papa helped mama to climb out from the window and secured her position on the thatched roof. Papa came back for Mudit and slowly helped her to secure her position on the roof with mama holding to her cold wet hand. By sitting on the roof, the hope of being rescue was higher as it was impossible to be inside the house which was almost submerged in water.

When mama was trying to secure her position on the roof with Mudit, she slipped! Mudit shouted “mama…mama…ma…” Papa immediately jumped into the water trying to hold mama’s hand. Mudit shouted “papa…papa…pa…” Papa replied: ‘Mudit hold tight, help will come, don’t let go.”

Gripping hard on the roof just as her father had instructed, she kept on crying out loud, “Papa…papa …mama…mama don’t leave me here. PAPA..MAMA don’t leave me here...” as she watched helplessly, her papa and mama being carried away by the strong current of water. Her cries from frantic loud voices gradually reduced to a whimper as exhaustion and cold overcame her. The rain continued to beat on her lean and exhausted body mercilessly…

Mudit found herself in a strange place when she opened her eyes. This is not her room and all of a sudden she remembered the rain and the flood. Fear gripped her, where is papa and mama? The sound from the outside of her room distracted her thoughts. Maybe Papa and Mama cooking outside, she thought… Her spirit lifted and she ran to the door as she couldn’t wait to meet papa and mama.

When she saw the back of the lady washing dishes by the sink, she rushed towards her and hugged her leg in a tight embrace. “Mama…Mama… I am so glad you are safe. I am so scared that I will not see you again.” She lifted her head to look at the lady as she sensed the lady was turning towards her. When their eyes met, shock went through Mudit’s body. She blurred out, “You are not my Mama, Where is my mama? Where is my mama?

The lady with the gentle eyes held her closely and looked into her face and said, “I am Auntie Mina and you must be Mudit. Mudit did not answer and gazed aimlessly, lost in the far distance. In her heart Mudit was longing for mama and papa. For the next few days, Mudit was housed together with 7 children whose parents were yet to be found. Mudit kept close to herself and hardly talked to the other children in the village though they knew one another.

Everyday Mudit cried upon waking up. The only time she did not cry was when she fell asleep. Infact she cried herself to sleep. She blamed herself for not jumping into the water to save mama and papa.” She started to cry again, big tear drops swelled out from the eyes. She dropped to the ground and cried her heart out as fear sunk in that she will not see mama and papa again.

The water level had subsided and Mudit walked to the old Angsana tree where all the children used to gather for story time in the past. There were fewer children now and even as they gathered there, they looked at one another aimlessly…their laughter, giggles and smiles were no longer visible. What had left behind around the old Angsa tree were empty bottles, tins, pots, plates, clothes washed out from the villagers’ homes.

Every time when Aunty Mina coaxed her to eat, she said; “I will wait for mama and papa. I want to eat with them.” Aunty Mina was very concerned over Mudit’s health. She said, “Mudit you have to eat a little...What will your Mama and Papa say when they see you loss so much weight….Everyone in the village is out helping to search for your papa and mama. Papa wants you to be strong so that you can help mama in the house. There is so much work to do… clean the house, the clothes, the furniture, the pots, the plates…” Mudit looked up into Aunty Mina’s eyes. She searched her face carefully and said, “Is papa and mama coming back? Are they not dead?”

Aunty Mina held back her tears and said, “Mudit, your papa and mama are still missing. So long as no one found their bodies. There is always a hope that they are still alive. You obeyed your papa’s instruction to stay on the roof and waited for the rescue. If he was here, papa would say – Mudit stay strong.”

Mudit eyes lighted up, said: “Yes, I know papa would said that because he is my papa and also my strong hero. I want to be strong like papa and mama. But… What happened if they are hurt?”

I am sure your papa is such a strongman he will be able to look after himself and your mama. Eat dear, stay strong while we wait for your papa and mama’s news,” said Aunty Mina

One week had passed, still no news on papa and mama. Mudit’s hope of seeing papa and mama was getting dimmer. She started to cry quietly on her own at night as she overheard some of the villagers were giving up the search. “Papa, mama where are you? Give me sign so that I can tell the villagers where to look for you. Please papa, tell me where to find you” she prayed in desperation. Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks shamelessly.

The next morning, as she was going through the routine of washing the clothes, her mind was far away wondering what had happened to her papa and mama. Suddenly, the quick running steps broke her out of her trance. She looked up and saw Aunty Mina running towards her. Aunty Mina must have some news regarding mama and papa, she thought. Without a moment of hesitation, she pushed away the bucket of wet clothes and ran towards Aunty Mina’s direction.

“Aunty Mina, you have news about papa and mama?” cried Mudit.

“err… yes Mudit… ” said Aunty Mina in a choking voice.

“MAMA and PAPA… ” said Mudit, as she couldn’t contain herself anymore.

“The villagers found your papa and mama, both were badly injured. I am sorry to tell you that they passed away on the way to the hospital. Before your papa died, he told me to give this black stone to you as it is very important to him and you. I am so sorry Mudit” said Aunty Mina not able to hold back the tears as she placed the stone into Mudit’s hand.

Mudit took the stone and began to gently rub it against her cheek. Tears were rolling down her cheeks uncontrollably. She fell to her knees and wailed shamelessly at the same time rubbing the stone against her cheek. After a while, she got on to her feet and said, “Aunty Mina, can you please takes me to the hospital. I want to see my papa and mama…”

The following week Mudit moved into a children’s home since both her parents had passed away. She always had the ‘black stone’ in her pocket and would take it out, cupped it in her palm and put it against her cheek. She felt the coldness yet smoothness of the stone, tears rolled down from her eyes and onto the ‘special stone’. She felt the dampness of her tears on the stone. She whispered: “mama… papa…I missed you both, what am I going to do being alone?”

A voice seemed to be emerging from the special-stone which was still cupped on her palm against her check. “Be strong my child…be strong my child…” For a moment, Mudit gazed at the stone, wiped the tears and put the stone into her pocket. It somehow gave her a little strength day by day…

By nightfall, when all the other children were asleep Mudit lay quietly by herself holding the stone in her palm looking out to the sky. Mudit rubbed the stone slowly and she felt her body was numbed as some force seemed to take over. The next moment she realized she was a big strong and kind Cheetah, protecting all the other children who have lost their parents in the freak floods. Cheetah had a kind heart of not harming the other children. When Cheetah rubbed the stone she was turned back into Mudit. The cheetah wisdom stayed with her always.

When Mudit woke up the next morning, she remembered the story of the ‘magic stone’ from Papa. The Magic stone was grasped on her palm. Mudit placed it close to her cheek again, closed her eyes and felt the warmth of the stone and smiled...

As the days went by, slowly the children gathered their strength, supporting and cheering one another. A kind lady brought some story books over to the children’s home and soon Mudit started reading and a bit of storytelling to the children. Her favourite story was the ‘Magic stone and the little girl’… and Mudit will act the ‘cheetah.’

“What was the secret of the black stone? Looks like it has some magic power on Mudit” When Mudit was little, she used to have frequent bad dreams. It used to scare her and she hated bedtime. When papa came to know about it, papa showed her his magic stone that made him strong and brave. He rubbed the stone against her cheek because the stone will turned into a cheetah to protect his little princess from the dream’s monsters. Since then, every night without fail papa will rub the stone against her cheek before she went to bed. Now she was not afraid of the bad dreams monsters anymore. But she continued to rub the stone before going to bed because the stone now helped her to sense the presence of her parents.

“Even though I missed them physically, but I can sense their presence in my heart whenever I rubbed the stone against my cheek. I can hear papa and mama’s voice telling me to be strong like a cheetah,” said Mudit.

--The End --

It was a most difficult story to write... emotions were evoked, I had to pause, continue the next day, paused again.... before I could start again. Getting it to fit into the framework, the problem not being able to resolve.... How deep or what level of pain I want to take this child to go through? Lines were changed when I went back in to continue writing...hmmm wonder what is the reason to change the lines?

Will read this to children and see what the response will be as we both go on this therapeutic journey together within our space.

*Not able to work it out on audacity yet as I will need to consult my ALS team member to teach me.

The Woods of Zamra

Step 1 – The Setting:

In the woods of Zamra, there were 3 cats named Duka, Anica and Anata. Each one of them had its own beauty: a ginger-cat, a taby cat and a black cat. They were left there by people who did not want the stray cats around their village. There was an old wooden shack and it provided a home for Duka, Anica and Anata especially when the weather changed. The air was fresh being dense with trees and there was a stream nearby. By evening it was the home of many other ‘animals’ besides Duka, Anica and Anata which found this their safe abode.

Step 2 – The Problem is...
However the peace in the woods of Zamra was short lived as someone who spent the night in the woods did not put out the fire completely when morning came and left for the nearby village. Smoke was emerging slowly from the little spot and soon a small fire was visibly seen. The weather had been dry lately and with a little spark, the fire slowly spread far n wide.

Step 3 – The failure to solve the problem
Soon thick black smoke was billowing from the woods… and the winds made it worst! The birds, bees and butterflies were flying frantically as the smoke thickened. The black and red ants, big and small hurriedly carried their eggs out of the ants’ nest made under the pile of fallen dried leaves… The peace that the woods of Zamra once had was raged with fire. What happened to Duka, Anica and Anata? In the midst of the chaos, there seemed to be no sign of them! Where have they gone to?

Step 4 – Then a hero comes along....

Duka, Anica and Anata were lost trying to find their direction for a while. Anata stood still and paused for a while to sense the direction in the woods which was slowly raged with fire.

Step 5 – And he has a plan

Anata sensed the nearby stream which would not be in fire as the ground was wet. It used to drink by the side of the stream everyday to quench its thirst...

Step 6 – And the Solution is found!

Anata quickly lead the way and soon found its direction towards the stream. Duka and Anica followed and they walked mindfully near to the bank of the stream as the fire was slowly moving in…

Step 7 – The Happy Ending
Duka, Anata and Anica continued their walks with Hope… that the stream will lead them to a new destination to rebuild their lives as the woods of Zamra was razed by the fire.

Reflections ~ The Woods of Zamra:

I realized when I wrote deeper into the story I felt a heavy heart, took a few deep breathing .... At the point of Step 4- When there is a hero, there seemed to be a little breather. When I hit Step 7, it was some relief...sigh…

I wonder what was the ending of The woods of Zamra, a happy one? Or one with HOPE… Whatever that was razed to ground will stand again, that mother earth will rebuilt itself when the weather changes for the better. Its ability to embrace and taste what was out there in order for it to know n realize n let go of the pain... BTW what is this pain all about? How can I celebrate this pain instead of remorse or sadness or ..…?
Give form to this pain, having a handle to hold to find my ground again…
**M Trying out another story using the framework and be authentic and congruent...yet to learn audacity, so can't work on it yet.

Reminder4mila

reminda4mila is to serve as a reminder for me on my assignment on the therapeutic use of stories. Decided to paste the article below from Alex from the link he sent us. I thought that was a clever idea for me b4 I get lost in the woods again...

Workshop Day - 28^th June 2009

Online Group Tutorial 1 -Wed 8^th July

Online Group Supervision -Wed 29^th July 8pm – 10pm

Online Group Tutorial 2 - Thurs 6^th Aug '09 8pm – 10pm

Action Learning Set Submission Date of Group Presentation

15^th August 2009

Personal Learning Journal Final Submission Date

22^nd August 2009

Therapeutic Use of Stories For Growth and Healing

Summary

This module introduces the participants to the therapeutic use of stories, with individuals, family and groups. Its therapeutic uses are wide ranging and diverse due to its universal healing and growth-promoting powers. The power of the story is immense and has been central to our human evolution. In this module it will address the use of stories for emotional and psychological assessment, for achieving therapeutic intentions such as development of self-esteem, psychological adaptation, problem solving, search for meaning, life review etc. It will address how it could be use for a wide range of problem or need context and client groups from different phases of their life span..

This is a six weeks learning cycle module and commences with a day workshop in week one. The workshop provides participants with an overview of the area of study as well as outlining the associated basic skills. Participants will be invited to formulate their questions relevant to their clinical context. This provides the focus for their own individual action learning. The individual will be allocated to an action learning set (ALS). A problem scenario pertinent to achieving the module outcomes is presented to the ALS. The ALS engages as a learning team in organising themselves to enquire, research, discuss and formulate their solutions to the presenting problem scenario. The ALS present and publish their group findings and receive feedback from the facilitator and from the other ALS by week six. The learning activities are supported by two 2-hourly online group tutorial session for each set during week two and week five. An online group supervision is provided to each ASL in week four/five to facilitate skills implementation and evaluation. The individual participant is expected to keep a personal learning journal of their learning experiences throughout the six week cycle. This is to include an evaluation and the learning acquired from their efforts in implementing the skills relevant to the module in their own respective work environment.

Aims

This module is intended to provide participants with the opportunity to develop the basic foundation skills of therapeutic story making and telling. It enables the participants to make sense of the personal stories of their clients. Such understanding takes into account that within client’s narratives, the source for such narratives may arise from the client’s subconscious, unconscious and collective unconscious. They are implicitly expressed through imagery, fantasy and contained by symbols and metaphors within the story. The module introduces the participant to such skills as crafting stories that could be shared with clients, stories which have the potential to activate and resonate the healing process from within, enabling the client to work through the difficulties and challenges they encounter. This module is one of the many interrelated modules of creative arts therapy which participants may decide to subscribe to in their CPPD. Other related areas of the creative arts therapy pathway are the use of small world play, role playing, puppets and masks etc. etc.

Intended Outcomes

At the end of the this module, the participant will be able to

· Develop an increasing an awareness of the therapeutic potential in creating, telling and listening of stories

· Begin to consider the therapeutic use metaphors and symbols within the narrative of the story

· Consider how stories could help in the assessment, identification and evaluation of therapeutic progress of actual and potential issues, underlying problems and needs of client(s)

· Utilise facilitative skills to effectively engage clients to tell their ‘stories’ and in helping healing stories to be heard.

Indicative Contents

*The specific contents of each respective module in the CPPD programme is dependent on the baseline knowledge and skills of the participants of the cohort. As the programme adopts an action learning approach to learning, the problems and challenges of practice that participants bring to the module will to a large extent determine the contents of the module. The content will be pertinent to the necessary relevant skills and knowledge required to address the issues brought forth. The indicative contents listed below provide a suggestive area of focus and is negotiable with each cohort.

· The skills of story telling and the use of props

· Understanding the therapeutic use of symbols and metaphors in myths, fairy tales and stories

· Assessment of inner psychological an emotional landscapes through story created

· The use mutual or reciprocal story making,

· Using story building models and frameworks - 6 Part Story Making Model, Monomyths

· Developing and using creative triggers to stimulate the imaginative faculties in story initiation

· Skills of facilitation in helping individuals to tell their stories and being a witness to the stories

· Exploring psychological themes in stories told and stories heard

· Sourcing ‘off the shelf’ stories that are cultural and developmentally appropriate to the listener and intent of the story teller.

· Use of stories for different age related and issues related client groups

Assessment

· Attendance of the module workshop

· Satisfactory participation and contribution to the action learning set which is peer evaluated and assessed.

· Provide satisfactory evidence of critical self-reflection, analysis, evaluation and synthesis in their personal learning journal

Reference

Specific references, reading lists or bibliography will be provided as the group progresses in their engagement with their action learning sets and determine by direction and area of their learning interest and research. The reference below is intended to provide a brief introduction to area of study.

• Gersie, A, King, N, (1997) Storymaking in Education and Therapy Jessica Kingsley
• Sunderland, M,. (2001)Using Story Telling as a Therapeutic Tool with Children Speechmark Publishing Ltd
• http://home.swipnet.se/~w-73784/golden.htm