What is narrative facilitation?

Narrative facilitation draws from the emerging field of Transformative Language Arts (TLA). TLA practice and facilitation acknowledges the spoken, written and sung word as vehicles for personal, familial and social change. TLA encourages and advocates self-reflection and emotional growth and thusly supports all of life's transitions.

Narrative facilitation utilizes the foundations of TLA work by incorporating tools for the exploration and preservation of individual and family stories. These tools include the recording of oral histories, on-site archiving, workshops and memoir/biography consultation. Each tool records the present and reconstructs the past in ways that are:

• Authentic and candid
• Emotionally connective
• Culturally relevant
• Historically meaningful

Stephanie Sandmeyer, TLA facilitator

Stephanie’s passion for honoring the present, preserving the past, and recording personal narratives led her to the work of a Transformative Language Arts facilitator. She received her BA in Literature from Marylhurst University in 2000, and her MA in Transformative Language Arts from Goddard College in 2008. She is a non-fiction creative writer and assemblage artist in Portland, Oregon.

Member of the:

• American Folklore Society
• Association of Personal Historians
• American Oral History Association
• The Transformative Language Arts Network