Innovative Approaches Redefining Recovery
Storytelling for the Recovery Workforce
Stories have great power. From Cave Art to Tik Tok, humans have been communicating through stories for centuries. In our work with people in or seeking recovery, our stories are the gold that create and sustain our connection to each other. From validating our recoveree’s experiences to offering solutions, hope and motivation, our stories have unlimited applications in our work.
The question is, HOW are our stories used to help others? How are they impacting the listener? And how about the teller? What’s the possibility of iatrogenic harm?
In this training, we’ll explore how culture impacts our personal art of storytelling. We’ll discover how stories are being received versus the impact that can ultimately benefit the listener, while also discussing how Recovery Values and Recovery Coach Roles can inform personal story sharing. Using this newfound clarity, we will have the opportunity to practice fashioning personal stories to support our peer roles.
This training is appropriate for anyone working with people with problematic substance use or mental health challenges for whom story sharing is part of the role. It is not necessary to be in personal recovery from these challenges in order to use our lived experience to be an effective storyteller!
Upon completion of this program, Participants will be able to:
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Discuss their relationship to storytelling and its role in their work.
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Evaluate the impact of culture on story sharing and listening.
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Define their personal culture of storytelling and recognize how their stories are perceived by others.
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Articulate how to best select and shape personal stories to achieve specific goals.
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Apply Recovery Coach Roles and Recovery Values to story sharing.
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Practice story creation using new perspectives within a recovery support context.
Credit Hours: Applications pending for 6 hours for MA, NY, and CT CARC certification
Click the button below to view upcoming workshops:
Recovery Storytelling
One of the most valuable assets we have is our lived experience, whether we identify as a person who uses drugs, a person with problematic substance use, a person in recovery, a person in family recovery, an ally, a provider, or any of the many other identities we claim for ourselves. We may find ourselves telling our stories for a vast array of audiences, settings, and purposes, including for ourselves and our own personal growth. But where do we learn how to tell our stories for the greatest impact on ourselves and others?
In this highly interactive workshop we’ll focus on using storytelling as a tool for advocacy, social justice, and personal growth. We’ll learn how to apply specificity in choosing stories from the vast tapestry of our personal stories to serve our purpose. We'll capture the power of the universal human language of emotions by identifying the core emotional truths in our stories, giving us the ability to move people’s hearts and transform our own perspectives. We’ll also discover how to honor our own voices and cultural contexts. We’ll leave with a better understanding of ourselves and a greater ability to use stories to transcend barriers, promote inclusion, and convey a clear, powerful message in a short format.
This training is ideal for anyone seeking to heal, grow, and better understand themselves and others, and/or how to use storytelling to have a lasting impact on others.
Upon completion of this program, Participants will be able to:
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Differentiate between the craft of personal narrative storytelling and other types of story-sharing
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Identify the elements that make a compelling, palatable, relatable story that will reach a wide audience, including narrative arc, stakes, beginning, middle and end, and a strong first and last line
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Incorporate scenes, emotions and details to enhance their stories
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Discover key parts of their own recovery journey to weave into a cohesive and moving story
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Create new, 3-5 minute personal stories for a variety of audiences
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Apply a new understanding and knowledge of storytelling to their stories in the future
For individuals, sign up for the next virtual class: click here to see upcoming events
For organizations, email Meghann to inquire about brining Recovery Storytelling to your team: meghann@meghannperry.com
Meghann Perry is a person in recovery who devotes her energy and gifts to helping individuals and organizations discover and share their stories - in their own voices - in meaningful, healing, and impactful ways.
Proud to work with: