Laura Beres | King's University College at Western University (original) (raw)

Papers by Laura Beres

Research paper thumbnail of Romance, suffering and hope : reflective practice with abused women

Research paper thumbnail of Valuing Critical Reflection and Narratives in Professional Practice Wisdom

BRILL eBooks, May 24, 2019

Research paper thumbnail of How travel might become more like spiritual pilgrimage: An autoethnographic study

Journal for the Study of Spirituality, 2018

This paper is based on an autoethnographic study of travel as spiritual pilgrimage. It includes a... more This paper is based on an autoethnographic study of travel as spiritual pilgrimage. It includes a critical analysis of literature regarding forms of Christian pilgrimage over the ages, examining how time and culture impact upon conceptions of pilgrimage. The author reflects upon her own experiences and analyses field notes collected as she travelled over a seven-week period, including an eight-day pilgrimage across St. Cuthbert's Way in the UK. Stages and themes of pilgrimage are discussed and suggestions are made as to how travel might become more like pilgrimage.

Research paper thumbnail of Practising Spirituality: Reflections on meaning-making in personal and professional contexts

Research paper thumbnail of How Two Practitioners Conceptualise Spiritually Competent Practice

Spiritually Competent Practice in Health Care

Research paper thumbnail of Re-enchanting the academy

Journal for the Study of Spirituality

Research paper thumbnail of Saying Hullo Again: Remembering Michael White

Journal of Systemic Therapies, 2008

Michael was a very humble and unassuming person. I am quite sure wherever he is now watching over... more Michael was a very humble and unassuming person. I am quite sure wherever he is now watching over these proceedings that he would be very discomfited by the outpourings of shock, grief, and mourning over his death on the one hand and the reverence in which he has been held and tributes paid to him from Quito in Ecuador, to Seoul in South Korea, from Moscow in Russia, to Capetown in the Republic of South Africa. Michael's worst fear was of hagiographies-I remember when he told me how worried he was of such versions of his life; I had to go and look up "hagiography." I learned it was the literary genre to do with the lives of the saints. In fact, I suspect that out of respect for Michael, many of us deferred to his wishes for anonymity and only spoke of such matters in private or at least far away from Michael's hearing. I know I certainly was one of those but I expect there were many like me. He cringed in the face of what became a version of celebrity in the world of psychotherapy in which he came to be regarded as one of the most significant influences on his generation. I guesstimate the books he either coauthored or authored have sold well over 100,000 copies in 12 languages and once again I guesstimate well over 30 separate translations. Now that Michael is not here to censure us, I wanted to speak in the merest outlines of his life's work and do so by way of celebration and honor. No one I know was readier to honor others than Michael and he made the term "honoring" a catch phrase. Let me give you one of a thousand possible stories from our friendship. Michael was an extraordinary cyclist. His fierce determination was matched by his physical capabilities. After all, in his early 50s, Michael entered his first full triathlon. Michael came out of the water first swimming against 20-year-old semi-professionals. We would cycle up from sea level in Adelaide to the summit of Mt. Lofty-0 to 750 meterstaking over an hour and a half. Not surprisingly, I would finish some time after him and I mean some time. He would always be waiting, thrilled to see me as if I came in first. "Eppy" he would say, "you rode so well . . . slow and steady . . .

Research paper thumbnail of Movement of Identities: A Map for Therapeutic Conversations about Trauma

Narrative Therapy: Making Meaning, Making Lives, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Saying Hullo Again: Remembering Michael White

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy (ANZJFT), 2009

Michael was a very humble and unassuming person. I am quite sure wherever he is now watching over... more Michael was a very humble and unassuming person. I am quite sure wherever he is now watching over these proceedings that he would be very discomfited by the outpourings of shock, grief, and mourning over his death on the one hand and the reverence in which he has been held and tributes paid to him from Quito in Ecuador, to Seoul in South Korea, from Moscow in Russia, to Capetown in the Republic of South Africa. Michael's worst fear was of hagiographies-I remember when he told me how worried he was of such versions of his life; I had to go and look up "hagiography." I learned it was the literary genre to do with the lives of the saints. In fact, I suspect that out of respect for Michael, many of us deferred to his wishes for anonymity and only spoke of such matters in private or at least far away from Michael's hearing. I know I certainly was one of those but I expect there were many like me. He cringed in the face of what became a version of celebrity in the world of psychotherapy in which he came to be regarded as one of the most significant influences on his generation. I guesstimate the books he either coauthored or authored have sold well over 100,000 copies in 12 languages and once again I guesstimate well over 30 separate translations. Now that Michael is not here to censure us, I wanted to speak in the merest outlines of his life's work and do so by way of celebration and honor. No one I know was readier to honor others than Michael and he made the term "honoring" a catch phrase. Let me give you one of a thousand possible stories from our friendship. Michael was an extraordinary cyclist. His fierce determination was matched by his physical capabilities. After all, in his early 50s, Michael entered his first full triathlon. Michael came out of the water first swimming against 20-year-old semi-professionals. We would cycle up from sea level in Adelaide to the summit of Mt. Lofty-0 to 750 meterstaking over an hour and a half. Not surprisingly, I would finish some time after him and I mean some time. He would always be waiting, thrilled to see me as if I came in first. "Eppy" he would say, "you rode so well . . . slow and steady . . .

Research paper thumbnail of Witness as Study: The Difficult Inheritance of Testimony

The Touch of the Past: Remembrance, Learning, and Ethics, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Narrative Therapy and Critical Reflection on Practice : A Conversation with Jan Fook

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1521 Jsyt 2011 30 2 81, Jun 1, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Witness as Study: The Difficult Inheritance of Testimony

Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 2000

Research paper thumbnail of A Thin Place: Narratives of Space and Place, Celtic Spirituality and Meaning

Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Narrative Therapy Group Interventions With Men Who Have Used Abusive Behaviors

Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 2010

This paper reports on an exploratory study of a narrative therapy group for men who have used abu... more This paper reports on an exploratory study of a narrative therapy group for men who have used abusive behaviors. Twelve group sessions were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed from a phenomenological perspective, identifying and sorting the facilitators' questions and comments into themes, deductively and inductively. We found that the facilitator with more training in narrative therapy usually asked questions and made statements from a narrative perspective, while the facilitator with less experience drew upon a variety of approaches. This highlights how, despite our commitments to facilitate groups from a particular perspective, it is difficult to research a "pure" theoretical approach. This is a preliminary step in documenting and examining the effects of narrative approaches.

Research paper thumbnail of Celtic Spirituality and Postmodern Geography: Narratives of Engagement with Place

In this article an auto-ethnographic approach is used to examine experiences of visiting the isla... more In this article an auto-ethnographic approach is used to examine experiences of visiting the island of Iona in the Scottish Hebrides. It incorporates critical self-reflection and critical reflection on interviews and field notes. These reflections are discussed in the context of Celtic spiri-tuality and postmodern geography, both of which present approaches to considering engagement with a physical place. Beginning implications for social work and counselling practices are raised.

Research paper thumbnail of Romance, suffering and hope : reflective practice with abused women

Research paper thumbnail of Valuing Critical Reflection and Narratives in Professional Practice Wisdom

BRILL eBooks, May 24, 2019

Research paper thumbnail of How travel might become more like spiritual pilgrimage: An autoethnographic study

Journal for the Study of Spirituality, 2018

This paper is based on an autoethnographic study of travel as spiritual pilgrimage. It includes a... more This paper is based on an autoethnographic study of travel as spiritual pilgrimage. It includes a critical analysis of literature regarding forms of Christian pilgrimage over the ages, examining how time and culture impact upon conceptions of pilgrimage. The author reflects upon her own experiences and analyses field notes collected as she travelled over a seven-week period, including an eight-day pilgrimage across St. Cuthbert's Way in the UK. Stages and themes of pilgrimage are discussed and suggestions are made as to how travel might become more like pilgrimage.

Research paper thumbnail of Practising Spirituality: Reflections on meaning-making in personal and professional contexts

Research paper thumbnail of How Two Practitioners Conceptualise Spiritually Competent Practice

Spiritually Competent Practice in Health Care

Research paper thumbnail of Re-enchanting the academy

Journal for the Study of Spirituality

Research paper thumbnail of Saying Hullo Again: Remembering Michael White

Journal of Systemic Therapies, 2008

Michael was a very humble and unassuming person. I am quite sure wherever he is now watching over... more Michael was a very humble and unassuming person. I am quite sure wherever he is now watching over these proceedings that he would be very discomfited by the outpourings of shock, grief, and mourning over his death on the one hand and the reverence in which he has been held and tributes paid to him from Quito in Ecuador, to Seoul in South Korea, from Moscow in Russia, to Capetown in the Republic of South Africa. Michael's worst fear was of hagiographies-I remember when he told me how worried he was of such versions of his life; I had to go and look up "hagiography." I learned it was the literary genre to do with the lives of the saints. In fact, I suspect that out of respect for Michael, many of us deferred to his wishes for anonymity and only spoke of such matters in private or at least far away from Michael's hearing. I know I certainly was one of those but I expect there were many like me. He cringed in the face of what became a version of celebrity in the world of psychotherapy in which he came to be regarded as one of the most significant influences on his generation. I guesstimate the books he either coauthored or authored have sold well over 100,000 copies in 12 languages and once again I guesstimate well over 30 separate translations. Now that Michael is not here to censure us, I wanted to speak in the merest outlines of his life's work and do so by way of celebration and honor. No one I know was readier to honor others than Michael and he made the term "honoring" a catch phrase. Let me give you one of a thousand possible stories from our friendship. Michael was an extraordinary cyclist. His fierce determination was matched by his physical capabilities. After all, in his early 50s, Michael entered his first full triathlon. Michael came out of the water first swimming against 20-year-old semi-professionals. We would cycle up from sea level in Adelaide to the summit of Mt. Lofty-0 to 750 meterstaking over an hour and a half. Not surprisingly, I would finish some time after him and I mean some time. He would always be waiting, thrilled to see me as if I came in first. "Eppy" he would say, "you rode so well . . . slow and steady . . .

Research paper thumbnail of Movement of Identities: A Map for Therapeutic Conversations about Trauma

Narrative Therapy: Making Meaning, Making Lives, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Saying Hullo Again: Remembering Michael White

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy (ANZJFT), 2009

Michael was a very humble and unassuming person. I am quite sure wherever he is now watching over... more Michael was a very humble and unassuming person. I am quite sure wherever he is now watching over these proceedings that he would be very discomfited by the outpourings of shock, grief, and mourning over his death on the one hand and the reverence in which he has been held and tributes paid to him from Quito in Ecuador, to Seoul in South Korea, from Moscow in Russia, to Capetown in the Republic of South Africa. Michael's worst fear was of hagiographies-I remember when he told me how worried he was of such versions of his life; I had to go and look up "hagiography." I learned it was the literary genre to do with the lives of the saints. In fact, I suspect that out of respect for Michael, many of us deferred to his wishes for anonymity and only spoke of such matters in private or at least far away from Michael's hearing. I know I certainly was one of those but I expect there were many like me. He cringed in the face of what became a version of celebrity in the world of psychotherapy in which he came to be regarded as one of the most significant influences on his generation. I guesstimate the books he either coauthored or authored have sold well over 100,000 copies in 12 languages and once again I guesstimate well over 30 separate translations. Now that Michael is not here to censure us, I wanted to speak in the merest outlines of his life's work and do so by way of celebration and honor. No one I know was readier to honor others than Michael and he made the term "honoring" a catch phrase. Let me give you one of a thousand possible stories from our friendship. Michael was an extraordinary cyclist. His fierce determination was matched by his physical capabilities. After all, in his early 50s, Michael entered his first full triathlon. Michael came out of the water first swimming against 20-year-old semi-professionals. We would cycle up from sea level in Adelaide to the summit of Mt. Lofty-0 to 750 meterstaking over an hour and a half. Not surprisingly, I would finish some time after him and I mean some time. He would always be waiting, thrilled to see me as if I came in first. "Eppy" he would say, "you rode so well . . . slow and steady . . .

Research paper thumbnail of Witness as Study: The Difficult Inheritance of Testimony

The Touch of the Past: Remembrance, Learning, and Ethics, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Narrative Therapy and Critical Reflection on Practice : A Conversation with Jan Fook

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1521 Jsyt 2011 30 2 81, Jun 1, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Witness as Study: The Difficult Inheritance of Testimony

Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 2000

Research paper thumbnail of A Thin Place: Narratives of Space and Place, Celtic Spirituality and Meaning

Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Narrative Therapy Group Interventions With Men Who Have Used Abusive Behaviors

Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 2010

This paper reports on an exploratory study of a narrative therapy group for men who have used abu... more This paper reports on an exploratory study of a narrative therapy group for men who have used abusive behaviors. Twelve group sessions were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed from a phenomenological perspective, identifying and sorting the facilitators' questions and comments into themes, deductively and inductively. We found that the facilitator with more training in narrative therapy usually asked questions and made statements from a narrative perspective, while the facilitator with less experience drew upon a variety of approaches. This highlights how, despite our commitments to facilitate groups from a particular perspective, it is difficult to research a "pure" theoretical approach. This is a preliminary step in documenting and examining the effects of narrative approaches.

Research paper thumbnail of Celtic Spirituality and Postmodern Geography: Narratives of Engagement with Place

In this article an auto-ethnographic approach is used to examine experiences of visiting the isla... more In this article an auto-ethnographic approach is used to examine experiences of visiting the island of Iona in the Scottish Hebrides. It incorporates critical self-reflection and critical reflection on interviews and field notes. These reflections are discussed in the context of Celtic spiri-tuality and postmodern geography, both of which present approaches to considering engagement with a physical place. Beginning implications for social work and counselling practices are raised.