History:

Narrative Initiatives San Diego (NISD) was originally founded as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 2006 by Dr. Jan Ewing, Ph.D., LMFT, under the name ‘The Center for Therapeutic Collaboration’ and in connection with the Center for Health and Wellbeing (CHWB). For more than a decade we have served the San Diego community with culturally-responsive mental health services. We provide a rich, experiential Narrative Therapy training context for graduate students and pre-licensed counselors completing their clinical hours for licensure by the state of California. Through our NISD Counseling center, located inside CHWB – a holistic medical practice in the queer-friendly community of Hillcrest – we provide inclusive and affordable mental health services to low-income, uninsured, underserved and marginalized populations. In 2012, the company changed its legal name to Narrative Initiatives San Diego.

Mission:

NISD is an innovative counseling, training and research center. Our team of mental health professionals, students and community members provide a collaborative, comprehensive and empowering opportunity to explore life’s challenges – whether those challenges may be cultural, physical, psychological, relational or socio-political. Our mission encompasses the following:

• To provide access to affordable individual, couples, family, and group therapy services to clients of diverse abilities, cultures, genders, religions, sexual orientations and documentation statuses.
• To provide a training center for those interested in Narrative Therapy practices and post-structuralist thought.
• To create a space for research, ideas, clinical work, and professional development to be supported in ways that are congruent with the values and theoretical concepts of Narrative Therapy.
• To contribute to the expansion of Narrative Therapy locally and globally.