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The 5th International Narrative Practitioner Conference

Bringing Theory and Practice Together

Catrin Finch Centre, Glynd r University , Mold Road, Wrexham, LL11 2AW 20 th-21 st June 2011

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Monday 20th June 2011 10.00am Registration opens 10.30am Chairperson and Keynote Address Professor Alexander Carson 11.15am Coffee break 11.30am Concurrent Sessions and Workshops 12.30pm Lunch and poster viewing 1.30pm Keynote Presentation John Given, Northumbria University 2.15pm Concurrent Sessions and Workshops 3.15pm Coffee break 3.45pm Symposiums and Workshops Tuesday 21 June 2011 9.30am Registration opens 10.00am Keynote Presentation Karen Lewis,University of Glamorgan 11.00am Coffee break 11.15amConcurrent Sessions and Workshops 12.15pm Lunch and poster viewing 1.15pm Workshops and Symposiums 3.00pm Coffee and close of conference
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Concurrent Sessions Monday 20 June 11.30- 12.30 Room 1 Theme: Narratives in a Practice Context 1) Paul Taylor: Narrative Inquiry: The Potential in Sociological Analyses of Mental Healthwork 2) Paula Pope: Discourses from youth work practice: the youth workers story Room 2 Theme: Narratives of Disability 3) Lucy Reynolds: Disability narratives in the UK press 4) Larry Lee: What is Challenging About Challenging Behaviour? An Exploratory Story. 5) Cassie Ogden: Transcending civility: storied experiences of leakiness in childhood 2.15pm-315pm Room 1 Workshop: 6) Andre Hutchinson: Involving service users stories in developing mental health services: the process of capturing, enabling and supporting service users' expertise and experiences.
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Room 2 Theme: Narratives and Creativity 7) Helen Newall: Dreaming the Silence: an audio-visual exploration into the representation of deafness and tinnitus 8) Jan Woodhouse: Interiority and the inner child - art as narrative 9) Sarah Mackay: Between Two Worlds: Exploring the experiences of young people with autism

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3.45- 4.45 PM Room 1 Theme: Narratives in a Nursing Context 10) Joanne Pike: A Phenomenological study exploring the holistic meaning impending surgery from patients and nursing staff perspectives. 11) Nikki Lloyd Jones: Competency, Contingency and Choice: Decision-Making in Nursing Practice 12) Sharon Edwards: Learning from practice: the value of story in nurse education Room 2 Theme Narratives of Identity 13) Rose Shepherdson: Obligate assumed Identity: narrating the darker untold side of unfolding dementia. 14) Denise Proudfoot: I am just a normal mother. Mothers living with HIV, tell their stories 15) John Reynolds: Jimmy Hendrix or Aristotle (performer, storyteller or educator). Who am I

Tuesday 21 June 11.15-12.15 Room 1 Theme: Telling stories in ways that make us stronger 16) April Harper: Stories of Education. 17) Liz Lefroy& Yvonne Ekersley with members of Outside In Animated Narratives working with social work students, service users and carers to develop narratives of exclusion and participation 18) David Coyle:Narratives of recovery: impact of person-centred approaches

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Room 2Theme: Narratives in a Social Work Context 19) Karen Roscoe and Kirsty Perry: Transitional Narratives: Discourses of social work students 20) Rose Mathews: Fifty years of poverty observations and associations 21) Wulf Livingston: Not from a Book: Social workers acquisition of knowledge on alcohol

1.15-3.00 Room 1 Workshop: Professor Alex Carson/John Given/ Karen Lewis Critical Conversations Symposium

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Poster Presentations 22) Grace Farrington: Bibliotherapy in a Modern Mental Health Context 23) Pat Hibberd:From the start of the first page.Constructing research identity through autobiographical narrative 24) Sinead OToole A Narrative Analysis of Stories of Dying with Motor Neurone Disease 25) Sinead OTooleNo room at the inn: A Story of seeking care at the end of life for a person with MND.

Abstracts
1)Paul Taylor and Cassandra Ogden: Narrative Inquiry: The Potential in Sociological Analyses of Mental Healthwork

Abstract This article explores how mental health workers experience their work on a day -to-day basis. It engages with the multifarious nature of their work, and how they come to terms with the expectations that are placed upon them. Moreover, although the sociology of mental health establishments has been extensively applied amongst service user perspectives, the plight of mental health personnel has received much less attention in the sociological context. This article focuses upon how the use of narrative interviewing and analysis has provided illumination on how mental health personnels day to-day work is structured and the physical, practical and ideological influences which effect it. Hospital based and community treatments are complex social arenas with a range of demands placed upon the front-line worker at any one time, emerging from both formal governance and informal workplace norms. A series of six normative orders of mental health work have been developed in order to provide an analytic lens by which mental health work can be more deeply understood. From this study, narrative interviewing of occupational groups can be seen as making an important con tribution to the understanding of such a workforce. This paper advocates that those who direct occupational imperatives should consider the importance of employing such a method of data collection in addition to already established analytic tools studying the welfare and effectiveness of mental health care professionals (MHCPs). Keywords: Occupational Culture, Mental Health Care, Qualitative, Narrative Inquiry

2)Paula Pope:Discourses from youth work practice: the youth workers story Introduction: Youth work is about beginnings and not end products. As such, it is a privilege to work with young people according to youth workers when they take the opportunity to reflect on the challenges and rewards of youth work in the current economic climate that is reducing funding for service provision and professional youth work training programmes. Their insights into the nature of professional youth work practice are shared in this paper. Aims of the project: This pilot study aims to use youth worker narratives to raise the profile of the value of youth work to young people in the community. It seeks to generate knowledge about youth work processes through collating vignettes of practice that will assist youth workers in training. It tests out research methods in preparation for the next stage of the research. Methods: Using purposive sampling, ten youth workers were recruited for the pilot, five from Merseyside in the UK, five from Victoria in Australia. Two researchers conducted separate semi structured interviews, developing a conversation about youth work experiences and realities, innovative practice and notions of their legacy. The findings were subjected to a thematic content analysis derived from Ritchie and Spence (1994).

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Results: Four main themes with descriptors were produced, identifying the youth worker role, professional ethos, youth work skills and approaches and impact of youth work. Discussion and conclusion: Youth workers narratives show personal commitments to making a difference in young peoples lives. This is achieved despite the instability of resource allocation and general lack of understanding about youth work in society. Implications for practice: By documenting examples of good practice, youth workers can contribute to establishing evidence of its value and attract future funding for services and workers in training.

3) Lucy Reynolds: Disability narratives in the UK press In this paper I explore the ways that both disabled and non-disabled people perceive the representation of disability and disabled people in the British press, using themes that have arisen from transcripts of focus groups with disabled people and non-disabled people. In the paper I will discuss a newspaper article from The Daily Telegraph that I have shown to the focus groups. The story carried the headline: I want my girl to have the Ashley Treatment (Davis, 06 January 2007). It featured Katie Thorpe, a teenager who has severe Cerebral Palsy that affects her both physically and intellectually. Katies mother, Alison thought that if Katie was to have a hysterectomy, it would benefit her by preventing her having periods. In the newspaper article, Alison told the difficulties she would have caring for Katie if she had periods and said that Katie did not have the ability to understand menstruation. So far, many different narratives have emerged from the discussions I have had with the focus groups. In this paper, one of the themes that I will discuss will be the patronising tone that is often adopted by newspaper articles about disabled people. The article about Katie Thorpe showed a photograph of her at the hairdressers with her mother. This article contradicts the content of another newspaper article, which talks about how difficult it is to look after Katie. Another theme I will discuss is personalisation and individualisation. Katie Thorpe was personalised and individualised in the article about Katie I have used in my research, because her mother wanted to treat her differently from both her disabled and non disabled peers. Davis, C. (2007) I want my girl to have the Ashley treatment, The Telegraph. 8 January. [Online] Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/core/Content/displayPrintable.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/ Glover, J. (2004) Choosing Children: Genes, Disability, and Design. Oxford: Clarendon Press 4)Larry Lee: What is Challenging about Challenging Behaviour? An exploratory Story. This thesis explores challenging behaviour with emphasis on whether learning disabled students can assume responsibility for managing what is deemed by professional experts as their challenging behaviour. Having reviewed the literature, challenging behaviour represents disruptions to the learning process. Student accounts, however, reveal they view challenging behaviours as Acts of Resistance to subjugating educational and psychological practices. This research explores, firstly, how some students deliberately use a defensive disability language to assert power over the learning environment; secondly, how some students purposefully assume defensive positional stances and use power tactics in response to the inequitable distribution of power between them and professional experts to assert power over the learning environment. Three case-study students and 12 focus-group students participated in this study. Accounts of their challenging behaviours were gathered using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions over a period of 10 weeks. Interviews were audio taped and transcribed prior to analysis. Grounded in students accounts, a thematic analysis yielded five themes relating to the research question: can students manage their challenging behaviour? ve got a problem, I cant, Im I disabled, I told staff and Im not normal. A Foucauldian and DiscursiveAnalysis highlighted five

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Acts of Resistance that relate to students level of differentiation from BBANN, PSI and MSN; namely, Conditioned Response, Role Specific, Inner-Conflicted, Retreating and Higher Order. The findings reveal students are capable of managing their challenging behaviours or Acts of Resistance if opportunities to do so are made available to them and if professional experts take into account students understanding of these behaviours. Providing these measures are taken, students and professional experts can collaboratively address Challenging behaviour with emphasis on students managing themselves. 5)Cassie Ogden: Transcending civility: storied experiences of leakiness in childhood. Elias details in his seminal work The Civilising Process (1939) how thresholds of shame and repugnance helped shape the modern conception of manners. His historical volume highlights a time in which nose picking, breaking wind and the various products of leaky bodies were not social taboos. In contemporary society our views of bodily fluids have changed quite radically. From a Foucauldian perspective, bodies are now more disciplined than ever and through the politics of biopower, bodies are both surveyed by others and the self which can constrain the li es of those deemed other, v different or not in control of their bodies. This narrative exploration of children with leaky bodies (two children with the label of inflammatory bowel disease were interviewed) highlights some of the ways in which children are encouraged to control their motions, despite living their lives through bodies which makes this difficult. Discursive analysis of childrens stories who experience bowel disruption at regular intervals of their lives, highlight how the art of hiding their inherent weakness can be more damaging than the weakness itself. Furthermore the stories highlight possibilities of queering their experiences of leaky bodies to help them feel more comfortable within their bodies. Despite queering usually being associated with embracing difference overtly, it is argued that children may choose to queer their bodily experiences in a covert manner. In doing so this empowers the children by allowing them access to peer normality whilst conversely enabling them to feel comfortable and open about their body reality amongst close peer and family groups. Such analysis does not demand an immediate change to contemporary societys hegemonic ideas of civility and normality, yet within chosen circles of the childrens lives, bodily differences become accepted. A de-civilising process may be required before the norms of society become more inclusive once again. 6) Andrea Hutchinson: Involving service users stories in developing mental health services: the process of capturing, enabling and supporting service users' expertise and experiences What are the experiences of service users and can these be collected in such a way that informs mental health planning and practice? Despite a long tradition of support for service user involvement, there is little evidence that it is an integral part of the Mental Health services. Furthermore little information is available regards its effectiveness, its impact on those service users who become involved or the outcomes for the service itself. An action research approach with emphasis on full integration of action, reflection and collaboration between user and researcher involved in an enquiry process has been adopted in order to focuson both process and outcomes; including:-.

- Hearing the service user 'story' (narrative- the aim of this narrative to focus attention on the lived experience) and its effectiveness in identifying issues that are of direct relevance to the individual. The National Modernisation Agency piloted this approach, in order to learn how to use patient stories to improve care. The Study claimed intensive interviews with patients generated far more valuable ideas for service change than traditional patient satisfaction surveys (Mahoney 2003).

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- This research then goes further in that the narrative is heard by service-user researchers. There is accumulating evidence which illustrates that engaging service users in obtaining the narrative has enabled and strengthened validity of responses from other service users. - In order that the service users are enabled to undertake this role within the research will include a process of interviewing and appointing service user researchers followed by a programme of training workshops, provision of supervision and discussion group/peer support throughout the programme. The main focus is on the service user story, how it is obtained and analysed by the service user researchers and translated into effecting change in services. If mental health services are to be shaped by users views, then methodologically sound ways of obtaining their views and encouraging people to come forward and present them are needed (Richards 1999).

7)Helen Newhall: Dreaming the Silence: an audio-visual exploration into the representation of deafness and tinnitus. The focus of this investigation was an interrogation of Jastreboffs belief that tinnitus is unrepresentable (Jastreboff, 2008). Since Newall experiences tinnitus, and Lauke is a sound artist, this project aimed to test this through the attempted creation -- via translation of described phantom sound into synthesized sound -- of an accurate simulation of tinnitus. Since tinnitus is a phenomenon which can only be experienced by its owner, and, as far as is known, each tinnitus phenomenon is unique (although similar in manifestation to the experiences of others), the method was self-reflexive and involved internal listening (counter to all medical advice to tinnitus sufferers) followed by verbal description of sound. This we described as a form of translation, which was translated back into sound in ProTools by Lauke. But, something was lost in translation and it was concluded after extensive experiment with computer generated sound produced in Pure Data, and with studio recordings of natural sound (vibrating glass, for example), that Jastreboff was right: the exact sounds of tinnitus are beyond synthesis. However, during the experiment, a different dynamic emerged: it was found that the experience of phantom sound could be iterated, in soundscapes which did not replicate exact experience, but rather offered a metaphorical version of it. The visual element was introduced to facilitate delivery of accompanying academic commentaries detailing findings and insights, but also to offer personal narrative rather than merely accounts of impersonal investigation. The presentation consists of a soundtrack and PowerPoint, which as critical and creative autobiographical artifacts support the thesis that while phantom sound cannot be absolutely accurately replicated, it can be effectively captured and communicated. To date, work has been installed in both arts and health settings, where anecdotal evidence suggests that the pieces have a significant capacity to raise awareness about hearing loss and/or tinnitus. 8)Jan Woodhouse: Interiority and the inner child- art as narrative Background and context:The use of art to tell a story is wellrecognised, as demonstrated by the saying a picture is worth a thousand words. This paper explores how images can enable narrative and recall of past emotions, as experienced by the presenter on a Healing through art course. Aims and objectives: y To give background details of a Healing through Art course y To illustrate how art can enable a narrative y To highlight aspects that arose on the course y To discuss the issues for practice Outline of main content:

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The first part of the paper will give details of attendance at a Healing through Art course, undertaken in 2009, in order to set the scene. Photographs will be used, in a narrative mode (Emmison& Smith, 2000), to illustrate the setting. The second part of the paper will explore the art work produced. The art works are embodied images, according to Schaveriens (1992) definition, and appear abstract, however the presenter will give the narrative behind the images. Notions of interiority and the inner child will be revealed. Aspects that arose in the production of the images, such as recalling past emotions, will be highlighted along with ideas of transference and counter-transference (Edwards 2004). The third and final part of the paper will consider the issues arising from reflecting on the experience and concludes on recommendations for practice. Conclusion: The making of images in known to have therapeutic qualities. The image can promote a narrative and explore forgotten emotions. However caution must be used, as bringing emotions into the present may have consequences. This paper reports on the lived experience and makes recommendations for practice. References Edwards D. (2004) Art Therapy. London, Sage Emmison M, Smith P. (2000) Researching the visual. London, Sage Publications Schverien J. (1992) Revealing image, analytical art psychotherapy and practice. London, Routledge 9) Sarah Mackay: Between Two Worlds: Exploring the Experiences of Young People with Autism [autism] makes me feel like I wanna get a kitchen knife, get my arm, stab myself, nobody understands me normal teenagers dont have occasion to feel like that what is it that theyve got different? Hannah, aged 16 Autism is a lifelong disorder affecting language development and difficulties with social understanding. Intense fixations and ritualistic and repetitive behaviours are also associated with the condition. Young people with autism are also frequently affected by feelings of depression and anxiety, and 1 in 3 adults with autism have severe mental health difficulties (Batten et al 2006). weve had some really horrible comments from people as well, because he looks so normal I feel I need to explain to say to people look, he has autism Ruth, parent of Thomas There are no visible clues to the presence of autism, and acquisition of a professional label remains the primary method of securing support and services. Social production of autism, instigated by medical obsession with diagnostic criteria, serves to enhance autisms visibility in the social realm. Unfortunately, social production and creation of typified individuals also mean that young people with autism are often viewed in terms of their limitations, rather than their potential. The good and thus wholesome danger is the nighness of the singing poet. Martin Heidegger, philosopher Although an academic and not a musician, I will present the findings of my doctoral research in the form of song. Stripped of the epistemological and methodological woes of the standard research presentation, my hope is that the voices of the young participants might be heard, and their stories told. References: Batten, A., Corbett, C., Rosenblatt, M., Withers, L. &Yuille, R. (2006) Autism and Education: the Reality for Families Today. London, National Autistic Society. Heidegger, M. (1971) Poetry, Language, Thought. (Hofstadter, A. Trans.) New York, Harper & Row. 10) Joanne Pike:A phenomenological study exploring the holistic meaning of impending surgery from patients and nursing staff perspectives Research suggests surgical staff take a medical model approach. While surgical nurses are aware of day surgery patients anxiety prior to surgery and nurses on the whole appear to be aware of patients spiritual needs, the issue of identifying these has been largely neglected (McSherry et al., 2004), and particularly as regards day surgery. Aim of the research The aim is to explore the meaning and significance of the surgical experience and to identify patients spiritual care needs prior to surgery, from the viewpoint both of the patient and the surgical staff.

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Methods Qualitative data has been collected from 27 adult patients invited by letter to participate in postoperative semi-structured interviews. The patient sample was recruited from patients in a welsh hospital, undergoing day-surgery. The next phase of research will involve a purposive sample of twenty multi-disciplinary staff from the surgical unit to attend one of three focus groups in order to explore their perceptions of spiritual care needed pre-operatively. Results will be compared across groups. This is important research in the light of the recent RCN spirituality research (McSherry and Jamieson, 2011). Results and conclusion Initial results from the pilot study suggests spiritual issues arise from awaiting surgery, but patients do not identify these as spiritual, though they discuss what is meaningful to them. They wish to have surgical intervention in order to return to their normal lives as far as possible. There is a concern that the spirituality literature to date focuses on delivering and assessing spiritual need in patients with a disease, disorder or disability. This may well lead to issues with applicability of existing theory. Implications for practice The impact on service organisation and delivery should be positive, in that patient care will be enhanced through clear understanding of the experience of undergoing surgery. References McSherry, W., Cash, K. & Ross, L. (2004) Meaning of spirituality: Implications for practice Journal of Clinical Nursing 13 934-941 McSherry, W., & Jamieson, S. (2011) An online survey of nurses perceptions of spirituality and spiritual careJournal of Clinical Nursing (online) 9 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.13652702.2010.03547.x

11)Nikki Lloyd Jones: Competency, Contingency and Choice: Decision-Making in Nursing Practice Nurses perception of choice: Decision-Making in Practice The contention of this paper is that we currently have two main paradigms that structure our decision-making; a personal and a professional. My aim is to present my current understanding of what the above looks like in practice. As part of an exploratory study investigating nurses decisionmaking in clinical practice, nurses at different stages of their nursing career were interviewed. Using Harold Garfinkels (2004) entho-methodology as a way of making influences on their decision-making more explicit, the narratives gathered in conversation demonstrate both these personal and professional resources as used in everyday practice. Characterised by the rules of reciprocal assumptions, participants showed the decisions they made towards being seen as a co mpetent student or qualified nurse. Garfinkel points to the narrative as a situated account of what really happened and foretold in light of what might have been done and what became of those alternative decisions. As such, the narrative is the end product or decision that is structured with reference to both the personal and professional. Using some of the quotes from the empirical stage of this study, the argument is made that this approach offers an opportunity to see more about competency, contingency and choice. Garfinkel (2004) Studies in Ethnomethodology.Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Oxford.

12)Sharon Edwards: Learning from Practice: The Value of Story in Nurse Education Abstract The paper begins, with an examination of the current nurse education curriculum in higher education and how learning and teaching takes place within it. My dissatisfaction with nurse education in its current form led me to return to my own experiences from clinical practice i.e. my own stories. In conjunction with the literature in this field I examined my own stories from practice, and the

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development of a personal learning process. I then applied the learning process to student nurse participants to explore in more detail how it worked. This paper considers the value of using student stories of practice in nurse education. The methodology takes a narrative form (Holloway and Freshwater, 2007; Calman, 2000; Clandinin and Connelly, 2000). The methods employed in the study involves the collection of student nurse stories from practice, analysis of these stories by the student nurses themselves drawing on Reasons (1994) work, and focus groups. My own analysis of the data looks initially for the types of the stories presented (Riessman, 1991), and then employs holistic content analysis and holistic analysis of form (Leiblichet al, 1998) to examine more deeply the individual learning and the process of learning through stories. In the final analysis I return to the participants stories and learning accounts and explore them through poetry. This paper suggests that when students are engaged with their stories of practice they become attuned to them and their learning is enhanced both in terms of subject knowledge and selfdevelopment. The process of learning that emerges provides insight into how learning through story occurs and how nurses learn in practice over time. There is evidence that stories give students a voice, although for them to truly have a voice more space is needed in the curriculum for them to tell their stories. The paper concludes with a number of recommendations for practice, including the need to rethink the nurse education curriculum to enable the inclusion of student-centred approaches, such as story, which values individual learning and emotional development. References Calman K C (2000) A study of story telling humour and learning in medicine. London: The Stationary Office Clandinin, D. J., Connelly, F. M. (2000) Narrative enquiry: experience and story in qualitative research. San Francisco: Josey-Bass Holloway I and Freshwater D (2007) Narrative research in nursing. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Lieblich A, Tuval-Mashiach R, Zilber T (1998) Narrative research: reading analysis, and interpretation. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications Reason P (Editor) (1994) Participation in human inquiry. London: Sage Publications Riessman, C. K. (1991) Beyond reductionism: narrative genres in divorce accounts. Journal of Narrative and Life History 1, pp.41-68

13) Rose Sheppardson: Obligate assumed identity: narrating the darker untold side of unfolding dementia Speaking and writing your own narrative may be useful to few others than yourself and close family unless by chance you are a skilled diarist awaiting discovery. On the other hand, reflecting on one aspect of your life and tying this up with high quality published literature has proved useful for example McBean (2009) Love in a cold climate. In that work a personal love affair with nursing and educating student nurses was explored against the literature about a passionate approach to teaching. The author is developing expertise in using published biographical style narratives (books and other media sources) to uncover new insights into life limiting disorders such as dementia, motor neurone disease and locked in syndrome. She proposes that where the authors are publicly recognised as wordsmiths prior to the illness experience such narratives give a considered account different to conventional relatively short, taped, interview analysis. Sharing stories day to day in difficult circumstances through social networking methods can be safe when a pseudonym is used, or in password protected professiona discussion forums especially if l search engines cannot access these contributions. Publishing openly in your own name creates ethical dilemmas regarding the vulnerable person who is ill and also prohibits full disclosure of the experiences. The author has much to share that will be useful for dementia work particularly formal and informal carers. Publicly speaking and writing under a pen name is an obligate state i.e. able to survive in only a particular role or environment.

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Milestones of insight will be presented from a personal journey of being the spouse of a man with dementia unfolding over a period of years. A new vocabulary is proposed that is potentially quite shocking unless the integrity and compassion of the author is understood. New terms will be explored in relation to dementia caring such as lodger status, vandalism, bodging, parasitism, black ice, toxic nuclear fuel release and how experts can mistakenly label the early dementia process as simply marital breakdown. Additionally the value of writing and speaking under a pseudonym will be summarised looking at a few famous users.

14)Denise Proudfoot: I am just a normal mother. Mothers living with HIV, tell their stories. This narrative study explores the challenges faced by mothers living with HIV (MLH). Few studies have considered their lives as they juggle HIV disease with the responsibilities of caring for their children. An Irish study of mothers living with HIV (MLH) is warranted because: y Women now represent over a third of the Irish HIV positive population. Most have been infected through heterosexual transmission and many have children (ODonnell Moran , &OHora 2009). y HIV is not just a health issue as it influences all aspects of a mothers life. Aim Of Research To explore the dynamics of HIV positive mothers lives in Ireland through a narrative qualitative study. Objectives Of Research Study This narrative study will specifically consider: y The mothering experiences of the research participants while living with the social impact of HIV. y An account of how the lives of MLH be understood theoretically in relation to existing literature on living with HIV. Methodology The focus of this study is to gain an understanding of the lives of the participants, using a narrative approach. The collected narratives will allow for the womens experiences to be documented. Through telling their stories people define both themselves and their experience (Murray, 2009). A purposive sample is being used and the women are being recruited from a HIV peer support centre in Dublin. The sample size will be no more than 15 mothers. Semi structured qualitative interviews with be conducted with each participant. The transcripts will be analysised using a narrative framework. Preliminary findings from the study will be presented. The study findings will: y Address the gap in the evolving body of knowledge in relation to the lives of mothers who are HIV positive. y Gain an understanding of these womens experiences with a view to inform those who provide care/support for them in a variety of settings. References y Murray M (2009) Telling stories and making sense of cancer. IJNP Spring 2009 Vol (1) 1. y ODonnell K. Moran J &O'HoraA (2009) HIV & AIDS in Ireland 2008 Annual Summary. National Disease Surveillance Centre (NDSC), Dublin Ireland.

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15)John Reynolds:Jimmy Hendrix or Aristotle (performer, storyteller or educator). Who am I? Exploring issues of professional competence, identity, relevance and the future, this paper will examine the roll of the contemporary teacher-educator. The world has changed the way that we communicate and consume information is almost unrecognizable compared with a mere decade ago. 2009 US Department of Education study revealed that on average, online students outperformed those receiving face-to-face instruction 1 in 6 Higher Education students are enrolled in online curriculum (www2.ed.gov, accessed online 1/03/11) Senior Vice President of Product Management of Google, Jonathan Rosenberg, who has led and managed some of the most innovative product development teams of the Internets first era said this at his University of Chicago Alumni Address great teachers are great storytellers. Narrative is how we learn. You teach with stories. Your best professors understand this intuitively. Think about their lectures. That's how you should teach (Rosenberg, 2010) The world has changed. As teacher educators how should we now teach? Are we performers, storytellers conveying information and data or are we something else? My narrative is an example of this change. 16)April Harper: Stories of Education Based on a personal narrative of education, this presentation outlines the barriers to education in the context of disabilities and provides a powerful narrative of ways in which to overcome and challenge such barriers.

17)Liz Lefroy& Yvonne Ekersley with members of Outside In Completing the Circle of Participation using Animation techniques with service users, carers and students as a means of capturing narratives of experience As part of the preparation for the delivery of a new service user and carer-led module for level 6 BA (Hons) Social Work students, we worked across disciplines to run an Animated Narratives Summer School for Outside In members (service users and carers) and first year social work students. All were working with stop-frame animation techniques for the first time. Outside In members worked with students support to capture short narratives, working within the constraints of time, technology and resources to distil a fragment of experience into 1 or 2 minutes of film. These films are now being linked together into one longer, episodic film in post-production. The Summer School aimed to explore the value of Animation techniques as a means of capturing narratives of experience and this session will present an account of the process and initial reflections from students, service users and carers, and lecturers. This project is being supported by funding from the Higher Education Academy.

18) David Coyle: Narratives of recovery: impact of person-centred approaches Mental health services are challenged to provide recovery focused delivery. Without moving towards flexible and person-centred approaches, efforts to create choice may amount to little more than a complicated procedurally neutered process, with services remaining unchanged (Alakeson and Coyle 2011). Aims of the project, research questions or hypotheses To evaluate implementation of individual recovery budgets (IRBs) in three early intervention teams (IRBs). To ascertain the impact on choice, empowerment as social capital. Methods

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Data came through a narrative methodology (Holloway and Freshwater 2007) with transcripts from participant interviews being read within a narrative frame developing core, progressive and regressive narratives (Bury 2001). Results.Stories revealed experiences of control choice and sense of journey from users and practitioners alike. 19) Karen Roscoe and Kirsty Perry: Transitional Narratives: discourses of social work students. In adult and continuing education qualitative research is a popular approach to scholarly inquiry. Literature surrounding narratives and social work is predominantly based on a case study approach in working with services users. Reissman, (2005) who critically reviewed Narrative in Social Work, points out that research utilising narrative methods orientated towards issues of pedagogy was considerably scarce in social work literature. What little there is, appear to discuss a change towards postmodern approaches in the curriculum (see for example, Laird, 1993). This paper explores narratives approaches in social work in the context of how narratives change and develop throughout the learners journey as well as exploring how these relate to the wider culture of social work practice. Driven by culturally- orientated methodologies, this study adopts discourse analytic methods to explore the accounts of contemporary social work practice who work or have had practice placements within adult services. Mishler (1986) describes how narrative based research focuses on context, beginning with the research situations interpersonal context, but taking in broader historical, social and cultural contexts. In social work, many levels of contexts are involved, that is, educational, cultural, professional and personal. Both experiences and realities derived from accounts of social work assume that narratives of social work represent a multitude of both cultural and social domains. Stories operate within interpretative communities (Squire, 2000: 55) of speakers and hearers that are political, as well as culturally crafted. Researchers who explore experience- centred narratives (Squire, 2008) locate their analysis in the interactions between the researcher and the research participant. Ricoeur (1991) describes this as intersection of life-worlds of researcher, research participant, and argues that this is an inevitable, constitutive characteristic of narrative research. Social Work practitioners deploy a range of narratives during their training and practice when making sense of contemporary practice demands. This paper explores how social work students adopt discourses throughout their socialisation within social work education and placement opportunities. Specific discourses can be identified in early training in the understanding of social work, whilst cultural discourses, drawn from wider social and practice discourses emerge during year two of training following a practice placement experience. It is these very discourses which this paper aims to explore and refers primarily to these as transitional narratives. Ricoeur, P. (1991), Life in Quest of Narrative, in D.Wood (ed.) On Paul Ricoeur: Narrative and Interpretation, 2033. London: Routledge. Riessman, C.K. (2005), Narrative in Social Work: A Critical Review, Qualitative Social Work, 4(4): 379 - 390. Mishler, E. (1986), Research Interviewing: Context and Narrative, Cambridge, MA, Harvard: University Press. Squire, C., Andrews, M. and Tamboukou, M. (2008), What is Narrative Research? In M.Andrews, C. Squire, and M. Tamboukou, (eds) Doing Narrative Research, London: Sage.

20)Rose Mathews: Fifty years of poverty observations and associations Introduction This installation combines art and creative writing in a series of three-dimensional sculptural vignettes prompted by observations and associations. These vignettes span fifty years (19602010), providing a personal, autobiographical narrative on poverty. They reflect professional and personal life experiences, in different roles and identities (carer, police officer, social worker, academic). The vignettes provide a graphic illustration of poverty and disadvantage and a powerful expression of resilience and survival. A central theme is the potential for marginalisation through social exclusion,

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and/or becoming a service user/carer/patient/prisoner. The role of positive deviance in defiance of oppression, and defence of autonomy, is also highlighted. The themes of the installation are: Bed and breakfast Domestic appliances Home maintenance Life and death Aims of the installation The aim of the installation is to present and prompt personal reflections and recollections relating to poverty. Those viewing the work are invited to respond by identifying their own observations and associations. They can then develop and record a personal vignette to add to the installation. Discussion Memories and reflections prompted by observations and associations are often ephemeral. Stories capture these in words, but the impact is heightened if multiple senses are engaged. This installation recreates scenarios by combining words with three-dimensional objects. Associations invoked by the work are extended through audience interaction and the creation of new narratives. Implications for practice Empathy in health and social care practice requires the active engagement of the creative, affective imagination. The sharing of hitherto hidden stories is intended to stimulate others peoples personal, professional and theoretical reflections on poverty, dis/empowerment and survival.

21)Wulf Livingston: Not from a book: Tales of every day drinking by Social workers Social workers have since Shaw et als (1978) original work repeatedly been identified by attitudinal questionnaires to demonstrate expressions of a lack of role adequacy, support and legitimacy in working with clients experience problems associated with alcohol (Galvani and Hughes 2008, Rassol and Rawaf 2008, Richardson 2008 and Watson et al 2003). The usual conclusion of these researchers is then that social workers therefore need more training in alcohol work. This presentation will tell both a researchers narrative of explorations of assumed typologies of knowledge leading to fundamental methodological shifts and the consequential social workers narratives of knowledge about alcohol being drawn from the personal, cultural and experiential rather than the formal and codified. Tales of drink, drinkers and drinking, which go onto inform understanding, practice and reflection. It will offer the substantive element of analysis and data from an on-going PhD thesis, which adopts an instrumental single case study design (Stake 2005), to explore social workers acquisition of knowledge about alcohol, through a methodology utilising grounded theory approaches w ithin semi structured interviews following a biographical narrative framework. It will demonstrate how the narratives offered by the social workers thus offer confirmatory echoes of propositional considerations as well as induce some new theoretical understandings. Finally it will reflect on the research participants experience of telling a narrative and safe places to tell personal stories for professionals.

Poster Presentations 22)Grace Farrington:Bibliotherapy in a modern mental health service: a research study The research questions for this study are twofold, thus asking i) how robust are the theoretical foundations for bibliotherapy in the English literary tradition, for determining its application in modern health contexts; and ii) can the practice of shared reading be said to constitute a form of therapy, and if so, what is the nature of this therapeutic intervention? How might an understanding and recognition of this affect or change the status of the activity within a health service?

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23) Patricia HibberdFrom the start of the first page.Constructing research identity through autobiographical narrative. Introduction: Studies suggest that there may be some transformation to identity during the process of successfully undertaking a research degree; examples including altered and broadened perspectives, more confidence in voice and writing and a more critically reflective approach within the workplace (Leonard et al 2005). As a midlife, female nurse educator I wanted to understand and prioritise competing demands on self in order to give space to a research identity that could flourish and grow within my professional development. Aim The aim of the poster is to provide a rationale for using autobiographical narrative as a layered process for developing critical insight into the personal development of research identity during the process of doctoral study. Methods The poster presents a model of autobiographical narrative that has the intention of deepening personal understanding of the role that identity is playing in shaping research learning and actions and to understand and influence changes to this over time. This is based upon an auto ethnographic approach reflecting multiple layers of consciousness that connect the personal to the theoretical, social and the cultural (Ellis and Bochner 2000). Bloomer and Hodkinsons (2000) concept of a learning career provides a theoretical framework for analysis. Implications to date: The model is currently being used to enable personal construction and reconstruction of research identity within a professional doctoral portfolio. References Bloomer and Hodkinson (2000) Learning careers: Continuity and change in young peoples dispositions to learning. British Educational Research Journal 26 (5), 583 - 597 Ellis, C and Bochner, A.P (2000) Autoethnography, personal narrative, reflexivity.Researcher as Subject. Chapter 28 in Handbook of Qualitative Research London, Sage Publications Ltd Leonard, D., Becker, R., &Coate, K. (2005). To prove myself at the highest level: The benefits of doctoral study, Higher Education Research & Development, 24(2), 135149 24)Sinead OToole Poster 1: A Narrative Analysis of Stories of Dying with Motor Neurone Disease The purpose of this poster is to present the findings of the study. Brief extracts from four of the stories from this data set are used to illustrate different constructions of dying with MND. They highlight the diversity of experiences recounted by the narrators.

Poster 2: No room at the inn: A Story of seeking care at the end of life for a person with MND. The purpose of this poster is to present one of the stories of dying with MND from this data set. This narrative was provided by the bereaved husband of a woman who died of MND. His story was concerned with their experience of seeking care in the last week of his wifes life. It highlights the difficulties of accessing palliative care in Ireland within the last five years.

Motor Neurone Disease (MND), although rare, is the most common fatal neurodegenerative disease of midlife. It is rapidly and relentlessly progressive with no curative treatment. The person with MND usually retains an active mind but is increasingly unable to move any muscles. Death usually occurs within two to five years. There are diverse and conflicting discourses on dying w MND. The ith dominant discourses are those of the media a terrible death involving choking and starvation and medicine a peaceful death. To date constructions of dying with MND from the perspective of relatives has received little attention.

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The data were derived from the narratives of twenty-one bereaved relatives. A combined thematic, structural and performative analysis of narratives was conducted. These narratives, characterised by plurality and diversity, revealed no accounts of choking or suffocation at the time of death, although one participant recounted a narrative of a painful death. While almost all of the narratives related accounts of dying quickly, peacefully and without pain, they were interwoven with experiences of suffering that occurred during the long trajectories of dying related by these research participants. Suffering was theorised as being both physical and iatrogenic in origin, related to the intermeshed components of the physical manifestations of MND and to the systems of healt care, and the h individuals within this system, upon which the dying person and his or her family were dependent. This study contributed to existing knowledge by focusing on relatives narratives of dying which revealed detailed constructions in which dying with MND was considered to encompass the entire disease trajectory. This research was supported by a joint grant from The Irish Hospice Foundation and The Health Research Board.

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