Portrait
Barbara Goossens, 1968
In my childhood I listened to storyrecords for hours. I loved hearing to the voice of the storyteller.
During my years of training as a Drama- and Movement Therapist in England I encountered the art of storytelling. I was invited to the Camden Storytelling Evenings which enthused me greatly. Listening to Scottish, African, Indian, Jewish and other storytellers opened up a whole new world for me. I was influenced strongly by the tradition of the travelling storytellers of Scotland and Ireland. These Ceilidhs and storytelling evenings still take place. Experienced storytellers as well as newcomers come together to tell a tale. I was captivated by this exciting, gripping and wondrous world of storytelling.
After extensive travels in Middle America, India and Ireland in search of traditional storytelling, stories have now become a regular part of my life, the very air that I breathe. I collect stories where ever I go and delight in passing them on. I believe that all stories came into the world to be shared with others, handed on to keep the tradition alive in each culture. Storytelling can entertain us, amuse us, get us thinking, teach and support us in our day to day lives. Stories are treasures that litter the highways of life. We can choose to hear them, absorb them, learn from them and be enriched by them.
The purity of their wisdom, their deep knowledge and the gentle spirituality with which stories speak to us, have given me a deep respect for them.
For over 20 years I have been working effectively with the art of storytelling, as entertainment for children and adults. I bring the world of stories into communikation, training and other workshops. They are an important part of my work as a therapist and counsellor.
Academic Qualifications
It is my intension to build social and cultural bridges through the means of storytelling. Therefore I use various aspects of communication. It is my aim for people to realize their uniqueness and to support them to achieve their potential.
- Drama Training, east 15 Acting School, Essex
- Storytelling, Emerson College, West Sussex
- Drama- and Movementtherapy, Central School of Speech & Drama, London
- Exspressive Arts Therapy MA, GPK, European Graduate School, Switzerland
- Expressive Arts Psychotherapist ASP
- Management Consultant, Institut for Systemic Impulses, Zürich
- Coach, Institut for Systemic Impulses, Zürich
- dipl. Communication Trainer NDS, aeb Schweiz, Akademie für Erwachsenenbildung, Zürich