ABSTRACT
For different families there may be many people who can see and appreciate the development of the preferred story and its impact on the family. However, family workers using narrative ideas in child protection report that, rather than creating conflict, they find themselves able to openly address child protection concerns more effectively. For other families the language can be less explicit, but the use of externalisation enables workers to discuss the impact of the problem on the family without family members becoming sidetracked by questions of blame or fault. These workers are developing new practices of including men in conversations with their families and providing programs that invite men to demonstrate a commitment to a non-violent lifestyle. Narrative ideas have led individual workers to challenge their personal assumptions and to listen more actively for accounts of how families survive in spite of forces that are outside their control.
