With wings outstretched Reflections on belonging, solidarity and transformation following narrative informed group work with women

Abstract

This paper presents and invites reflections on belonging, solidarity and "being with" from within and between a practice and research frame. The paper explores the interconnected stories of personal development and transformation that emerged from a four year doctoral research project whilst also paying appropriate attention to the practice context, which is centralised given that the research is practice-based. Deliberate connections are made between the author's own experiences of transformation and the stories of transformation that women who were part of the research have shared. In so doing the importance of solidarity and being with is privileged. In a climate where group work is often viewed as an efficient way to teach "psychological skills" to people who are viewed as lacking such skills, offering a different (relational) frame challenges the individualised, deficit-defined discourse.