GONZALO BACIGALUPE
University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA
Gonzalo is Associate Professor and Director of the Family Therapy Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He is also an Adjunct Research Professor at the Department of Family Medicine & Community Health, UMASS Medical School. He also holds an appointment with the National University at Distance in Spain (UNED). He has been a Senior Fulbright Research Fellow, an APF grantee, and has been recently selected as Ikerbasque Researcher to initiate family health, immigrant, and technology research in the Basque Country. His work in the collaborative and narrative arena started in Chile when he trained in the mid-eighties as a family therapist and was exposed to the post-Milan and Maturana’s constructivist ideas, by one of his professors in Chile. Later during his doctoral studies, he trained and worked with Lynn Hoffnan, Janine Roberts, and Ernst von Glasersfeld at a time when constructionist ideas became more known. He has been active as an editor, first as co-editor of the Journal of Systemic Therapies and presently as the Associate Editor of Family Systems & Health. Gonzalo still refuses to ping himself as a narrative therapist and prefers to think of his work as strength-oriented and located in the larger system or simply as always in movement. His present work focuses on immigrant and transnational families, public health issues, and the uses of social technologies in therapy and collaborative health. He feels privileged of having worked and being a colleague of a meaningful community of strength-oriented, collaborative, and narrative therapists and researchers.
MAGGIE CAREY
Narrative Practices Adelaide: Adelaide, Australia
Maggie has been involved in the practice of narrative therapy since the early 90's and currently enjoys a range of opportunities in teaching and making the ideas and practice of narrative therapy more generally available. She is one of a core of group of people who, in partnership with Aboriginal colleagues, are developing and facilitating training for a Diploma in Narrative Approaches for Aboriginal Workers. As an Associate of the Adelaide Narrative Therapy Centre, Maggie is looking forward to a time of creative productivity in regards to both practice and training.
CINDY I. CARLSON
University of Texas at Austin, USA
Cindy Carlson is Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas and has served as Graduate Adviser since 1998. She is responsible for the academic endeavors of over 70 master's and 230 doctoral students in the seven concentrations in the Department of Educational Psychology. She is credited with developing a student orientation program, a weekly colloquium for first-year students, a workshop for students nearing graduation, and an on-line graduate student handbook. In addition to her work with students as an adviser and teacher, Dr. Carlson is actively involved in the administration of the graduate program in Educational Psychology. Her most recent research focuses on ethnic differences in parenting and the effects of ethnic diversity on the peer social relations and psychosocial development of middle school youth. She has co-authored two books - "Family-School Intervention: A Systems Perspective" and "Family Assessment: A Guide for Clinicians and Researchers." She is a Fellow in the American Psychological Association, where she currently serves as a council representative and member of the Committee on Accreditation, and is past president of the Division of School Psychology.
SAVIONA CRAMER
Barcai Institute for Marriage and Family Therapy, Israel
Saviona has been practicing, teaching and enjoying Narrative ideas for the last 15 years. As a partner at the Barcai Institute for Marriage and Family Therapy in Israel, she practices Narrative ideas with a range of different people, cultures and issues as well as teaching Narrative ideas and supervising therapists.
MOIRA DESLANDES
IAP2, International
Moira is the Executive Director of International Association for Public Participation (IAP2). She is a Director of Issues Deliberation Australia/America and serves as a Governor's appointment on the Medical Board of South Australia, a ministerial appointment for the Public Space Advisory Committee and is the Chair of the Community Foundation SA Advisory Board. She is married with four adult children and lives in Willunga on the Fleurieu Peninsula of South Australia. Moira enjoys the Willunga Farmers Market and is an active member of Playback Willunga. Moira has a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Social Administration, an MLitt, and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
DAVID EPSTON
David studied at the universities of Auckland, British Columbia, Edinburgh and Warwick in anthropology, community development and social work (family therapy). He originated, along with Michael White, what has come to be known as Narrative Therapy. He has published extensively on the subject and his best known books are White and Epston (1990), Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends, which has been translated in to 12 languages, Epston and White (1992), Experience, Contradiction, Narrative and Imagination, Freeman, Epston and Lobovits(1997), Playful Approaches to Serious Problems: Narrative Therapy with Children and their Families and Maisel, Epston and Borden(2004), Biting the Hand that Starves You: Inspiring Resistance to Anorexia/Bulimia. Down Under and Up Over: Travels with Narrative Therapy was released in 2008 along with book chapters in the Sage Handbook of New Approaches to Business and Organizations and Critical Feminist Approaches to Disordered Eating. David has been awarded a D.Litt (1996) from John F. Kennedy University and 'Distinguished Contribution to Family Therapy’ from the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy (2002) and 'Distinguished Contribution to family therapy theory and practice' from the American Family Therapy Association (2007).
JERRY GALE, Ph.D
University of Georgia, USA
Jerry Gale is the Director of the Marriage and Family Therapy Doctoral Program at the University of Georgia. He is a Licensed Family Therapist and an approved supervisor of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. He is the recipient of the American Family Therapy Academy 2006 Outstanding Research Award. He received his doctorate in Family Therapy in 1989 from Texas Tech University, and his Masters Degree in Counseling from the University of Arizona in 1979. He has extensive training in clinical hypnosis, couples therapy and children's behavioral issues. He is trained in complimentary therapies, including mindfulness meditation. Jerry is also a founding member and current chair of the Athens Crisis Response Team (ACRT), a multidisciplinary group responding to community crises.
YAEL GERSHONI
Barcai Institute for Marriage and Family Therapy, Israel
Yael has been working and teaching/supervising with Narrative ideas and sees the world through this perspective. Among the diversity of problems she encounters, she takes a special interest in women and teenagers that struggle with anorexia and bulimia. She also works with victims of terrorist attacks - people who have lost their loved ones and others that struggle with post trauma and is a partner at the Barcai Institute for Marriage and Family Therapy in Israel.
LESLIE MOORE
University of Texas at Austin, USA
Leslie is a senior lecturer in counsellor education with the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas. Her focus is on comparative approaches to psychotherapy, couples therapy, intensive short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy and narrative therapy.
ELIZABETH MORGAN
Morgan Disney and Associates: Australia/Papua New Guinea
Elizabeth trained and worked as a social worker and has a Masters in Public Policy from the Australian National University. She is one of the founding Directors of Morgan Disney & Associates, a highly respected national social policy and research company based in the national Australian capital of Canberra. She has over 30 years experience in direct service delivery, senior executive positions and in government and non-government organisations in the social policy field. Elizabeth has temporarily taken a position as a Development Practitioner in the AusAid funded Law and Justice Sector Program with Cardno ACIL in Papua New Guinea.
SHONA RUSSELL
Narrative Practices Adelaide: Adelaide, Australia
Since beginning work as a family therapist in a non-government community-based organization in South Australia over 15 years ago, narrative therapy has guided Shona's therapeutic practice. Shona's work spans a range of contexts including a specialist service working with the effects of historical sexual abuse, a family therapy team, and independent practice working with young people, women, men and couples in response to a wide range of concerns. Alongside her therapeutic practice, Shona is inspired through her work as a teacher of narrative therapy providing workshops both locally and internationally. She has worked for many years on the Dulwich Centre Teaching Faculty and joined Michael White as an Associate of the Adelaide Narrative Therapy Centre. Through this work Shona explored narrative practices in the context of trauma. She has worked with colleagues in Bangladesh, Columbia, Mongolia, Palestine and Zimbabwe. A key component of Shona's work is the provision of supervision both for individual practitioners and teams.
PAMELA RYAN, Ph. D.
Psychology Beyond Borders, Australia/USA
A licensed psychologist in her birth country, Australia, Dr. Pamela Ryan works internationally, holding leadership positions in several international organizations. Dr. Ryan is Managing Director of the global public policy "thinkaction tank", Issues Deliberation America / Issues Deliberation Australia (www.ida.org.au), Cofounder and Chair of international humanitarian/research organization, Psychology Beyond Borders (www.psychologybeyondborders.org), and Cofounder and Chair of the Texas-based Silverton Foundation (www.silvertonfoundation.org). Dr. Ryan received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas with award winning research on the psychology of decision-making. Dr. Ryan maintains her strong ties with academia as a Research Fellow at the Hawke Research Institute, University of South Australia and the Centre for Australian Studies at the University of Texas.
JACK SAUL, Ph.D.
Columbia University, USA
Jack Saul, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of Clinical Population and Family Health at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Director of the International Trauma Studies Program. As a psychologist he has created a number of psychosocial programs for populations that have endured war, torture and political violence in New York City and is known for his innovative work with communities that integrates testimony, healing, media, and the performance arts. He has a private practice in New York City in individual, couple and family psychotherapy.