The Institute of Narrative Therapy

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The Institute of Narrative Therapy

Join the Narrative Community and take one of our trainings: Beginner to Diploma Level available. See below.

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Application form for level 1-3

COURSES

Available face to face or online. Explore the theories informing narrative therapy and the associated practice frameworks. Five days.

LEVEL TWO

Available face to face or online. Further enrich your skills and explore more advanced aspects of narrative practice. Two formats: five or six days.

LEVEL THREE

Study narrative therapy and practice at an advanced level. Attend any of the taught modules of the Diploma as a standalone five-day course at Level 3.

DIPLOMA

Take on intensive and rigorous training in advanced narrative practice. You will progress through five taught modules, submit written assignments, and finally complete the Practice Assessment module. On being awarded the Diploma you become an Associate Member of the Institute.

NEWS

2026 Conference dates now available

Uncategorised

We are pleased to announce that we will be organising a conference of Narrative Therapy and Community Work in 2026, running from Thursday July 9th to Saturday lunchtime July 11th, ie, two and a [...]

ABOUT US

The Institute of Narrative Therapy was established in 2009 with the aim of supporting the teaching and development of Narrative Practice in the United Kingdom and beyond. The current Directors are Mark Hayward, Amanda Redstone and Hugh Fox.

The Institute offers training at Level 1 (five days) and Level 2 (five or six days), as well as the Diploma in Narrative Therapy which students complete over a number of years. All our training provides a rigorous and practical learning experience. Practitioners will be able to start using the ideas after completion of Level 1 training; their range of understanding and sophistication of practice will be increased by completion of Level 2 training, and completion of the Diploma will ensure that you have an advanced level of skill.

Institute staff are all highly experienced teachers and are committed to the dissemination of narrative ideas and practices. We seek to contribute to the development of the next generation of practitioners and teachers and are glad to support any projects that are consistent with narrative principles and ethics.

We also support the development of an evidence base to facilitate the practice of Narrative Therapy in agencies and institutions

FACULTY

Amanda Redstone Partner
Amanda Redstone has 30 years experience working with couples, families and individuals. She worked as a counsellor and family therapist in Primary care in Devon for 18 years. She did her training in Narrative therapy with Michael White and teaches in the UK and internationally.

She offers supervision via Zoom.
Gillian Hughes
Gillian Hughes is dual trained as a Clinical Psychologist and Family Therapist and currently leads the South Camden CAMHS Service at the Tavistock Centre in London. She has worked in the NHS for 24 years, in inner city boroughs, as a clinician and trainer in systemic and narrative practices, with a special interest in liberation and community psychology approaches. She has recently co-edited a book, Afuape, T, & Hughes, G. (2016) ‘Liberation Approaches: Towards Emotional Wellbeing Through Dialogue’. She is a UKCP registered family therapist and an AFT registered supervisor.
Hugh Fox Partner
Hugh Fox has worked with children and families for over 40 years and has been involved with Narrative Therapy for over 20 years. He was a social worker before qualifying as a family therapist in the early 90s and moving to work for CAMHS. He is a UKCP registered family therapist and an AFT registered supervisor. He offers supervision based in Matlock, Derbyshire as well as by Skype or phone.
Rob Whittaker
Rob Whittaker works as a Consultant Clinical Health Psychologist in Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. He works mainly with people living with diabetes and HIV, though has many years’ experience working in inpatient and outpatient settings in a range of physical health specialties. He also works for the Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust in the Gender Identity Development Service with gender diverse young people and their families.

Mark Hayward Partner
Mark Hayward has worked as a family therapist for 25 years, was trained by Michael White and now teaches around the world. He has always worked with children and families, latterly also in the field of drugs and alcohol. Recent teaching assignments have taken him to Brazil, Russia, China, Australia and Singapore as well as many European countries and around the UK. He has published papers in journals in US, UK and Australia. A current project is revisiting Michael Whites early papers to draw out new practice ideas. He is registered as a UKCP Psychotherapist and an AFT Family Therapy Supervisor.
Anita Franklin
Anita Franklin, BA, MA, PhD is a narrative practitioner who works in educational and community settings. Anita uses narrative ideas in adult education to support women whose lives have been affected by domestic violence, trafficking and other difficulties. She served as co-director of the Centre for Narrative Practice in Manchester from 2002 to 2009 and has been cultural consultant to a number of national and international narrative events. She has contributed to the Dulwich Centre’s Race and Privilege project and to its Feminisms and Narrative Practice project. Anita joins the INT team as an educational consultant to the training programme, to help maintain and improve the quality of teaching and learning for trainees and staff. Anita brings with her over 30 years’ experience as a lecturer, course leader and examiner in higher education in the UK. She has recently retired from the University of Sheffield’s School of Education.
Ben Shannahan Associate Member
Ben Shannahan is a UKCP registered family therapist who has worked with children and young people, individual adults, couples, parents and families in various contexts over the past 14 years. He has years of experience working in independent practice and CAMHS in London where he currently works consulting with young people and their families facing a broad range of emotional and mental health struggles. Ben is also a passionate musician and has an interest in using music as a medium to connect with young people and their families.
Mariangels Ferrer Associate Member
Mariangels Ferrer is trained as a Narrative Therapist having completed the inaugural Master of Narrative Therapy and Community Work (Dulwich Centre/University of Melbourne), and is also qualified as a Clinical Psychologist and Family Therapist. She is currently a joint director of Riverbank Psychology. She has worked in the NHS in the past and is now working independently using narrative ideas with a specialist interest in the impact of medical genetic conditions on individuals and families. Mariangels is a UKCP registered Family Therapist and an AFT registered supervisor.

More information to follow.

Sabine Vermiere Associate Member
Sabine Vermeire is a member of staff at Interactie-Academie. a training and therapy centre in Antwerp, Belgium, where she is a psychotherapist and supervisor as well as running training courses and workshops. She has helped develop a narrative network in the Low Countries that organises conferences and which functions as a forum for the exchange of ideas and mutual inspiration. As a therapist her expertise is in working with children, youngsters and families in difficult contexts (violence, abuse, psychiatric problems and trauma) and working in creative ways when speaking becomes difficult.

More information to follow.
Glenda Fredman Associate Member
More information to follow.
Emma Highfield Associate member
Emma Highfield became enchanted with narrative ideas during a workshop delivered by Hugh Fox as part of her Foundation in Systemic Family Therapy in 2014. This led to her excitement to know more and her journey to learn, immerse herself in the ideas, develop her practice and become a narrative therapist.

Emma completed the Diploma in Narrative Therapy with Int in 2021. Emma is a registered nurse in mental health and has worked in the NHS for over 30 years. She weaves narrative approaches into her work in systems where stories of disorder are dominant, distress is pathologised and teams become saturated with hopelessness and fatigue.

Emma is passionate about reducing restrictive practices, helping those who are out of sight (in terms of how they are cared for) and supporting the linking of lives and amplification of voices standing against exclusion, marginalisation and human rights breaches. Emma also delivers a small amount of work outside of the NHS in teaching, supervision, and narrative therapy.

Associate Membership of the Institute

Membership of the Institute of Narrative Therapy is regulated so that the highest standards of practice, teaching and research are required to qualify people to join.

Associate Members

The Diploma in Narrative Therapy automatically confers Associate Membership of the Institute on its holders.

Those who have undertaken other trainings of an equivalent standard, eg, the Dulwich Centre International Course, may apply for Associate Membership via an Accreditation of Prior Experience and Learning (APEL) route. Applications to be an Associate Member by the APEL route attract a one-off initial fee. For the current level of this fee contact info@theint.co.uk.

Click here for a form for an APEL application.

Associate Members are also required to:

Maintain an active therapeutic practice.
Regularly receive supervision from others trained in narrative therapy.
Regularly obtain feedback from clients about the effectiveness of their work.
Demonstrate commitment to working in ways that are ethical and effective.

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