Co-authoring new relationships at school through narrative mediation

Abstract

The practice of narrative mediation is illustrated through a case study for its applicability to the resolution of conflict in a high school. Two boys who had been fighting are brought together by a New Zealand high school counsellor to address their differences. Fighting is externalised and the boys are invited into a relationship story based on their own knowledge of ways to resist fighting. The mediation disrupts the conflict narrative and develops a counter-story of harmonious relationship. This article illustrates narrative mediation in action and provides a commentary to make it understandable and replicable for school counsellors. As a straightforward case study, the article does not make substantial claims for this practice but seeks to inspire further applications of narrative mediation by school counsellors.