Tim Donovan is a registered mental health social worker, an experienced practitioner passionate about assisting people in living their lives in their preferred way. With graduate qualifications in social work and narrative therapy, Tim is committed to person-centred practice in supporting individuals, families and groups who have experienced acts of oppression. Dale Johns is a survivor of childhood sexual violence who has devoted his life to Pastoral Care and Advocacy, working with the lonely, homeless and drug affected. Dale hopes his story brings freedom to other survivors through gaining a deeper understanding of shame, and teaching mental health professionals showing care and compassion is a vital component of effective counselling.
I commend Reclaiming Lives from Sexual Violence: Understanding Shame through Innovative Narrative Therapy for its originality, its generosity of spirit and its co-authorship. In addition, it takes up shame as a major concern, offering remedial strategies to render it ineffectual. But perhaps most significantly is that Tim, the counsellor and Dale, the survivor, who as they put it, 'walked alongside' one another do so once again in the most engaging and inspiring fashion in co-authoring this book. David Epston, BA, Dist.Dip.Comm.Dev., MA (Applied Social Studies), CQSW(UK), NZAC, D.Litt (honoris causa) What a treasure of a book! For those wanting to know more about the practice of Narrative Therapy with survivors of child sexual abuse, how to walk collaboratively alongside those who have been subjected to sexual violence and to turn taken-for-granted understandings of shame into expressions of values held dear, Tim's and co-author, Dale's book, Reclaiming Lives from Sexual Violence: Understanding Shame through Innovative Narrative Therapy provides this and more. It's sensitivity, authenticity and clarity are to be commended. Sue Davidson, B. Soc. Sc., M. Soc. Sc. (Counselling), Advanced Cert. in Narrative Therapy (Dulwich Centre, Adelaide)