Pop-up library at Ummeed “Books are a doorway into imaginary worlds which help keep boredom away.” said a young neurodivergent person who frequents the pop-up library at Ummeed. This space was created with the hope to create an environment that deconstructs the ideas of a typical library and provides a space for young people to…
Tag: Community
‘Collective Feeling’… Ananya on Artwork and Mental Health
Bruner once said, “Stories become transformative only in their performance” This week, we are in conversation with Ananya Broker Parekh who calls herself a “freelance illustrator, a picture-maker and a storyteller.” In this conversation, she lets us into some of her profound, yet accessible storytelling through her artwork around mental health and what moves her…
Jugaads, the ‘little’ doings
A quaint and a colourful little book at a first glance, Jugaad is a storehouse of decolonized and unabashed knowledge about mental health by 14-young people between ages 14 – 19 years. It is a book carefully and collectively crafted by the young people that is rooted in their lived-experiences, and seeks to be…
Story-beings by Alfonso Diaz
In many ways, stories are similar to living beings: They seem to have their own interests. They compel us to share them and, once told, they begin to grow and change, often becoming longer, stronger and more elaborate. Stories find each other, they intermingle, and multiply. Stories need our attention to thrive in the world:…
Let’s Talk Narrative… with Jehanzeb Baldiwala
Narrative Therapy India is resuming the interview series, as a way to bear witness to and archive the unfolding of Narrative Ideas and Practices in India. Our guest this week is Jehanzeb Baldiwala, a therapist, supervisor, trainer and part of Ummeed Child Development Center’s management team since 2004. She has aligned herself with narrative…
We know this.. Because we are Adivasis – The women and youth of Dadra & Nagar Haveli
We know this.. Because we are Adivasis – The women and youth of Dadra Nagar & Haveli Dadra and Nagar Haveli is a Union territory that was established on 11th August, 1954. Majority of its population comprises different tribal groups. If we look at the word Adivasi and break it down- ‘Adi’ means people…
Picture books as a scaffold for externalisation
Picture books can serve as a wonderful way to externalise problems, not only for children but adults too. The illustrated stories help readers of every age, understand, explore and even encourage them to talk about the worries, and sadness around them. Many narrative practitioners use picture books for externalising problems in their work with children,…
Trying to be an ally to the Autistic community as a mental health professional
by Prathama Raghavan (First published in http://www.medium.com Here is the link to the original article published on August 14, 2018) Description: Three children stand, looking curious, in front of a yellow wall. There is a white window, a bookshelf, and a blackboard with stick figures drawn on behind them. Credit: Upasana Agarwal. My academic background…
One year since A Room Full of Stories
It’s been a year ever since A Room Full of Stories – The First International Narrative Therapy Conference has come alive and seen a community of Narrative practitioners from diverse cultures, contexts of work and countries, joined together by the commitment of respectful ways of working with people. Looking back today, it was an enriching…
Narrative Therapy India 