We are delighted to welcome you to this edition of Performing Repair in Educational Insights.

Repair is about the recovery of the self; it is beyond coping, surviving but returning to living more fully again. Hence the intentional choice of the word REPAIR. Humans are capable of repair psychologically, emotionally and relationally many times over the lifespan. As writers, academics, researchers and therapists we are inspired with the power of the human ability to heal or repair the self. We (Marv and Marla) have witnessed this many times in our work with survivors of horrific traumatic events. This inspiration lead to the development of this special edition of Educational Insights.

The focus of the presentations/articles in this edition moves us away from the traditional style of conventional presentations often found in scholarly journals. Movement away from traditional formats allows us to bring more fully into focus various dimensions of self and expressions of repair. You will see in the presentations how reconstruction and reintegration of self and context is made possible by enacting the story, by giving voice to story through performing repair. In this way we see how there is a sense of return to, or coming back into a sense of wholeness. Notice the focus on body, sensation, emotion, movement, and cognition and reflect on the ways these constructs interact with each other to form a more fully articulated gestalt.

Marla, Marv and Richard

About the Editors

Marla Buchanan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education at the University of British Columbia. Her research interests include narrative and critical approaches to studies involving different populations experiencing traumatic stress. She is currently completing a study on secondary traumatization among Canadian journalists and photojournalists. She is also working on a collaborative participatory action research project involving incarcerated women in British Columbia. In her clinical practice, she utilizes narrative therapy strategies including autobiographical techniques, somatic reprocessing and life review in groups dealing with traumatic loss.

Marv Westwood is a Professor in the Counselling Psychology Program at U.B.C. and Associate Member of the UBC Faculty of Medicine.  He taught previously at St. Francis University and McGill University prior to coming to U.B.C.   His teaching and research areas focus on group counselling and psychotherapy, trauma repair, and therapeutic applications of the guided autobiographical life review method to the counselling process.  Dr. Westwood’s most recent work includes development and evaluation of a group-based approach to trauma repair—therapeutic enactment. He has established several personal development programs for professionals across a wide range of groups (counselors/psychologists, nurses, physicians, soldiers, clergy, etc.) using Guided Autobiography and group-based therapeutic enactment methods.  His research and teaching focus areas have been included in many invited presentations at numerous national and international conferences.  His research has been supported by grants from a number of different sources including, HSS and SSHRCC.

Richard Harrison is a Registered Psychologist in private practice at the Vancouver Couple and Family Institute and a Sessional Instructor (adjunct professor) in the Counselling Psychology program at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Harrison’s research interests include therapist wellbeing and protective practices that mitigate risks of vicarious traumatization. His doctoral research was supported by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, in partnership with WorkSafe BC. Dr. Harrison’s clinical practice integrates narrative, relational, experiential, and systemic approaches to therapy with individuals, couples, and families.