International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work: 2026 issue 1: Special issue on metaphoric narrative practice

International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work is a peer-reviewed journal for practitioners who wish to stay in touch with the latest ideas and developments in narrative practice. It is published twice a year on the equinoxes.

In honour of the 20th anniversary of the Tree of Life, this issue includes a special section on metaphoric practice. The Tree of Life narrative approach has travelled way beyond its original contexts in Southern Africa. Practitioners in communities across the globe have adapted and expanded this metaphor, finding ways to gather stories of survival, kinship and hope in the face of storms.

Across many parts of our world, people are living through ravaging storms of appalling war crimes and growing violence. Colonisation, neoliberal economic discourses, political denial, historical silences and poverty have led to immense suffering.

And yet these storms do not tell the whole story. People are not passive recipients of hardships, and they are always responding. It is heartening to witness the innovative ways practitioners are adapting narrative therapy ideas and rooting them in diverse soils across the world. Their practices honour people’s knowledge and skills, acknowledge acts of refusal and resistance, invite agency and enable contribution. Across the work in this issue, therapy and community practice are understood not simply as sites of individual change but also as places where social and political change can be fostered.

We hope these contributions offer moments of resonance and curiosity, and spark innovative adaptations in your context. In times when many communities continue to face devastating storms, the stories and narrative practices documented here remind us of the power of collective action and of our commitment to continue building strong forests.