Turning a back on violence: Storying anti-violence with young men in schools

Abstract

What are some of the effects of inviting young men troubled by violence to take up non-violent identity claims? This article describes narrative therapy practices in re-authoring stories of violence with one of two young men in a New Zealand secondary school. The core outcome of this article is displayed through seven therapeutic “movements” within counselling conversations with Carl, one of the participants. The approaches demonstrated offer possibilities for the development of anti-violence practices within schools that deconstruct notions of masculinity. A scaffolded therapeutic conversation towards alternative understandings of masculinity is presented that produces more hopeful and respectful ways of being as men.