In recent years, the Third Sector has offered many opportunities and challenges for psychologists. As founding members of social associations or cooperatives, design and development experts, service coordinators and case managers, Third Sector psychologists work with the most vulnerable groups in society.
From the treatment of drug addiction to support for migrants, from the protection of women victims of violence to the promotion of the well-being of children with special needs, also finding its involvement in mental health awareness projects and the accompaniment of young people in complex phases of life.
The link between community psychology and the Third Sector is fundamental to promote social and psychological well-being. In this sense, the understanding of the human and the creation of healthy and collaborative networks between individuals who share life paths can be a very important aspect that the figure of a psychologist can provide to a project. And one of the tools through which this goal can be achieved is precisely that of words and narration.
Human beings have always been storytellers. From cave paintings to illuminated manuscripts, stories have communicated information, social norms, entertained and inspired. Storytelling is influenced by available technologies, which offer new challenges and opportunities to storytellers.
Today, we tell stories through non-linear platforms and spaces. Transmedia storytelling expands a story into a cross-platform experience. Immersive storytelling, thanks to virtual reality, allows the audience to enter the story and manipulate it visually. These are evolutions of ancient traditions, enhanced by technology.
Media technologies have evolved dramatically, from Gutenberg to today’s capabilities of CGI and virtual reality. Every technological development has allowed increasingly sophisticated experiences. Storytelling orchestrated across multiple platforms, such as in entertainment franchises, is complex and challenges traditional business models. The Producers Guild of America recognized this evolution by creating the Transmedia Producer designation in 2011.
As technology advances, tools become more and more accessible. The boundaries between those who create and those who consume content are blurring. Technologies have created YouTube Stars, Influencers and self-publishers, responding to the ability to tell a story.
The human brain, however, evolves much more slowly than technology. Our minds try to make sense of experiences through stories. The success of a story, whether transmedia or on a single platform, depends on the resonance, authenticity and richness of its story.
Stories are authentic human experiences that transcend technology and bring us to the heart of the experience. There are several psychological reasons why stories are so powerful.
Stories are a primordial form of communication, connecting us to ancient traditions, legends and symbols. As Carl Jung argued, we share a collective unconscious, with universal patterns and meanings.
Stories create social connection, transcending generations and involving us emotionally. They allow us to share passions, sadness, difficulties and joys, and to overcome defenses and differences. They represent a theory of mind, helping us to make sense of life through patterns, cognitive maps and metaphors. We use them to explain, persuade and define social values. Stories provide order and comfort. The narrative structure allows us to deal with intense emotions, knowing that resolution follows conflict.
And it is through these considerations that Youth Folktale was born, which aims to help young people face future challenges, developing self-help and coaching tools to reflect on their choices and plan their life path.
The project involves the creation of six boxes containing stories from the folklore of different countries. Each box is developed through experimental sessions that allow you to formulate questions and scenarios useful for self-reflection. These boxes can also be used in counseling, such as in Boldizsár’s “Metamorphosis Folk Tale Therapy”.
Each box will include:
- A written version of the folktale with a guide to analyze the themes and characters based on personal experience.
- Picture cards representing the highlights of the story with questions for the subject.
- Narrative videos of the stories to be projected during the sessions.
In June we met the students of Psychological Sciences and Techniques of the University of Palermo. The meeting was presented as a fundamental opportunity to reflect together on how the growing presence of psychologists in the third sector can create a repeating effect that allows us to develop in increasing order a type of design that can find its solidity in the knowledge that explores people’s lives and the stories that cross them to improve their quality of life.
For further information visit https://youthfolktale.eu/ and follow us on Instagram.
About the project
Youth Folktale – Probing Our Fortune – Carrier Preparedness and Life navigation with Folktales is funded by DG EAC, Erasmus+ KA2 – Cooperation partnerships in youth. The main objective of the project is to improve the preparation of young people, so that they are able to make informed and conscious choices in relation to their life and professional career, developing their capacity for self-reflection and resilience.
Partners
- Rogers Foundation, RF (Hungary, coordinator)
- CESIE (Italy)
- Hafelekar (Austria)
- Active Citizens Partnership (Greece)
For further information
Read the project sheet, visit https://youthfolktale.eu/ and follow us on Instagram.
Contact Marco Gennaro: marco.gennaro@cesie.org.
