Searching Together: “Research Resisters” and Creating Pathways for Narrative Practice Research

Authors

• David Denborough, University of Melbourne, Australia | Dulwich Centre, Adelaide, South Australia, AustraliaFollow

Abstract

This paper conveys eleven research innovations that have recently emerged from the field of narrative therapy and community work. These include multi-storied surveys, testimonies and counter documents; insider researchers navigating pathologising literatures; creative ethical processes and accountabilities; re-imagining research interviews; conceptualising research as resonance; linking insider research and practice; collective narrative documents in research; exchanges of collective documents/letters as methodology; reading back: oral retellings; the development of Indigenist story-journey methodology; and forms of research that are accessible, resonant and useful to the most marginalised. These innovations are linked to histories and ethical commitments that are also described.

Keywords

narrative therapy, collective narrative practice, Indigenist, practice research, research interviews, resonance, insider research

Author Bio(s)

David Denborough works at Dulwich Centre as a narrative practitioner with groups and communities who have experienced hardships, and at The University of Melbourne where he supervises doctoral research projects and coordinates the Master of Narrative Therapy and Community Work.  Please direct correspondence to Daviddenborough@dulwichcentre.com.au 

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgement to David Epston David Epston co-developed narrative therapy with Michael White. He also introduced anthropological literature and concepts to the field and conceptualized narrative therapy as co-research. He taught on the Master of Narrative Therapy and Community Work in its early years and met with many of the practitioners whose later research work appears in this paper. Personally, David was also the most generous supervisor of my Ph.D. (with Amaryll Perlesz) and introduced me to John McLeod. For so many reasons, the research innovations described in this paper and the Narrative Practice Research Network are only possible due to David Epston’s multiple contributions over more than four decades. Amaryll Perlesz was the person who first suggested the development of the Master of Narrative Therapy and Community Work and the ways she supervised my Ph.D. have significantly influenced my approach to supervision. Sally St George and Dan Wulff have been constant companions in developing the forms of research described in this paper.

Publication Date

8-2-2026

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Recommended APA Citation

Denborough, D. (2026). Searching together: “Research resisters” and creating pathways for narrative practice research. The Qualitative Report, 31(7), 6214-6238.

ORCID ID

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3041-3135