Externalising and Internalised Other Interviewing: A Relational Approach to Understanding the Experience of Voice-Hearing

This workshop utilises externalising and the Internalised Other Interviewing approach to explore voice-hearing as a relational phenomenon rather than a medical symptom. By positioning lived experience as the primary resource, we move away from ‘pathologising’ individuals and toward understanding the social and historical contexts of their voices.

SYSTEMIC THEORY AND PRACTICE FOUNDATION

The workshop draws on Systemic and Narrative Therapy, specifically:

• Externalisation: Separating the person from the problem (the voice) to reduce shame and restore agency.

• De-centred Practice: The practitioner acts as a co-researcher, prioritising the client’s personal knowledge over diagnostic labels.

• Witnessing/Acknowledgement: Validating the reality of the lived experience to create doubt in the ‘dominant’ negative narrative of the voices.

• Thin vs. Thick Stories: Moving past ‘thin’ diagnostic stories to uncover ‘thicker’, multi-layered identities.

PARTICIPATORY ELEMENT

• In small groups, participants reflect on a ‘dominant story’ they carry (like a diagnosis or a self-criticism). They practice giving that story a name or a visual identity.

• Outsider witnessing:  audience members will be invited to listen from and be interviewed as  outsider witnesses to the dialogue between the presenters. 

TAKE-BACKS FOR PRACTICE

• Scaffolding Conversations: A framework of questions to help clients ‘re-author’ their stories by finding unique outcomes where they have the upper hand.

• Relational Focus: Tools to bring partners or family members into the session as ‘witnesses’ to break down barriers of secrecy and fear.

• Power Awareness: Techniques for maintaining a ‘level playing field,’ ensuring the practitioner’s status does not become a barrier to human connectedness.

• Language of Discovery: Tools to inquire rather than entrench; to find the root of the pain.