A quiet revolutionary: A conversation with Heather Chambers

Abstract

Many innovations in clinical care are never reported in academic literature, because skilled and creative practitioners are often unaccustomed to academic writing. This means that important insights that could influence practice may not come to the attention of researchers who can generate the evidence that is needed for an intervention to gain wide acceptance. Heather Chambers is one of those gifted clinicians whose insights have often been revolutionary for the practitioners who have worked with her, but whose work still requires formal evaluation. Parallel Parent and Child Narrative (PPCN) is one of the interventions that Heather Chambers developed. It is a dyadic form of therapeutic storytelling, in which moving beyond any moral condemnation and towards therapeutic care is deeply embedded. PPCN focuses on revealing and proving the good intentions at the heart of everything that parents and children do, to counter feelings of hurt, blame and shame. PPCN has been utilised in both New Zealand and Australia, in small geographical pockets, since the early 2000s. There is accumulated anecdotal evidence from its use in private practice: Infant, Child and Family Services (ICAFS) in the Hutt Valley and Wellington, New Zealand; and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and reunification services (restoring children to their birth families, after removal by child protection services) in South Australia. The use of PPCN over many years and in a variety of settings suggests that clinicians who are familiar with PPCN find it useful and rewarding and that families are able to engage with the process. This conversation with Heather Chambers has been included in this special issue with the hope of introducing PPCN to the wider family therapy community and stimulating interest in this approach.