The 2023–2024 Certificate Program includes the following online meetings.  Please note all times are listed as Eastern Time:

• Friday September 29, 2023 10AM-6PM: Orientation
• Fridays 12PM-5PM Oct 27, Nov 17, Dec 15, Jan 19, Feb 16, Mar 22 & Apr 19: Learning & Practice Intensives

• Friday May 17, 2024 10AM-6PM: Closing Presentations and Ceremony

Our orientation meeting allows us to begin our learning journey in meaningful ways, including an opportunity to learn a bit about what is precious to each of us. If the previous six years are any indication, participants are likely to form very important connections that have a good chance of continuing after the program ends. The monthly Friday meetings focus on foundational narrative practices that Michael White developed. These narrative practices include Deconstructing, Re-Authoring, and Thickening, which are all in the service of Rich Story Development. The Closing Ceremony in May is a chance for us to come together and celebrate our year-long commitment to ourselves and our learning community. During this ceremony, you will be invited to present stories about what learnings have been most meaningful for you.

In addition to the once per month 5 hour Friday meeting, there are weekly 1.5 hour online meetings in small groups. These meetings allow you to meet with individual faculty throughout the year, helping you stay connected to your intentions for learning. If you enroll in the program, you will enroll with a cohort of 7 with a faculty member.  The options for the 1.5 hour meetings in Eastern Time are:  Mon 6:30PM-8PM; Wed 8:00AM-9:30AM; Fri 12:00PM-1:30PM. The course includes readings and reflection papers, which are designed to help you story your personal relationship with narrative ideas and practices.  One week each month will be a dedicated reading week for you to engage with assigned reading materials.  This course will use the Google Classroom platform.  You will need a gmail address to use Google Classroom.  A short training is available if you wish to familiarize yourself with the platform.    

This course is highly experiential, and draws significantly from participants' own lives, personally and professionally. We think learning from our own lives is one of the most powerful ways to know what narrative practices help make possible. This means personal stories are frequently shared. If you are not comfortable sharing stories from your personal or professional life, this course is likely not a good fit for you. To be clear, we don’t expect anyone to share anything they prefer to keep private.

To ensure potential participants are informed about the various expectations and hopes associated with this course, we require interested participants to participate in a conversation before registering. A NTI faculty member will schedule an initial phone or zoom conversation to discuss your hopes for learning and answer any questions you may have. A decision will then be made about whether your hopes and the course expectations seem like a good fit. To schedule the initial conversation please email Darcey here, with a subject of "Certificate Program Initial Conversation".  

If you decide to join us, you will be a member of the seventh NTI Certificate cohort. In addition to learning about narrative ideas and practices, participants develop a precious community and powerfully meaningful relationships around shared values. We are deeply heartened by relationships with people like you who recognize the responsibility that comes with the privilege of offering someone help. Graduates of the Certificate program are well positioned to help grow a more socially just Narrative World.