Tiffany Sostar

they/them

Tiffany Sostar is a narrative therapist and community worker living as an uninvited guest on Treaty 7 land (in “Calgary, Alberta, Canada”). They love collective narrative practice and documentation, and are interested in the ways collective narrative practice overlaps and intersects with legacies of queer and feminist zine culture. They graduated from the Master of Narrative Therapy and Community Work program in 2018 and enjoy being an ongoing part of the program as a faculty member and subject designer. Tiffany is queer, non-binary, non-monogamous, and disabled, living in lots of liminal spaces, and interested in working in these spaces.

Hostility towards the trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming communities continues to escalate. For the next long while, Tiffany is undertaking a series of community work projects responding to these losses and hoping to create a body of narrative responses in support of trans lives, which informs their current PhD studies at the University of Melbourne.

I am a fairly low-key facilitator, and I am comfortable leaving a bit of 'awkward silence' in order to hold space for people who need a bit more time before they are able to share.

It's also relevant that I really, really love collective narrative practice. I didn't always call it that...before I had that language, I would have said I love zines (and I do still love zines) but now I have the framing of collective narrative practice, and that's where my heart lives. Can we bring some voices together to have a conversation about a topic that matters to our communit(y/ies)? Can we document it in some way? I love that, and I am always looking for those opportunities (though I am not always quick on following through with the creation of a document).

I have been designing and facilitating workshops, courses, webinars, and community groups in a wide variety of contexts for a lot of years! I founded and ran Possibilities Calgary Bisexual and Pansexual Community Group for 11 years, designed and facilitated writing workshops as Writing in the Margins for over a decade, and before that I designed and ran dog training workshops under DogStar Training and Behaviour Consultations. More recently, I have developed online courses on topics like speculative fiction and narrative therapy, writing to celebrate the life of a loved one, and more. I’m also on the faculty for the Narrative Therapy Centre in Toronto, and the Dulwich Centre/University of Melbourne Master of Narrative Therapy and Community Work program.

Basically, I love this stuff.

I love figuring out how to offer something of use to my communities, and how to bring people together to explore something interesting and engaging. (I also make a lot of collective documents and zines.)

I also love working with community organizers, narrative practitioners, and other folks who are supporting people. If you’re having an experience you would like support in navigating, or if you’d like regular conversations about your practice or community work, I would love to connect!

I have 15+ years of experience in organizing and facilitating community groups, including navigating harm in community contexts, and 6 years of experience in private practice (although I am no longer focused on individual narrative therapy).

Approach
Narrative, Invitational, Enthusiastic, Low-key
Tiffany’s approach is also closely aligned with and informed by disability justice, abolition work, anti-capitalist work, and resistance to and rejection of the colonial state, which dovetails nicely with much of Narrative practice.

Areas of particular interest
Tiffany is particularly interested in collective narrative practice, supporting trans lives, community organizing, speculative fiction, disability/chronic illness, and neurodivergent experiences.

Location of Place
During their PhD program (2024 until, hopefully 2027!), Tiffany will be living in Tarntanya/Adelaide, in Australia, on Kaurna land for four months of the year.

For the other eight months, they live in what is known as ‘Calgary, Alberta’, the home of the Blackfoot Confederacy, including the Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani First Nations; the Tsuut'ina; and the Stoney Nakoda, including the Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Goodstoney First Nations. This is also the home of the Métis Nation of Alberta.

As a Treaty partner and uninvited guest on this land, Tiffany is committed to continuing their learning about the history of this land and working actively to resist colonialism. They are thankful for the guidance offered in the 94 Calls to Action and the 231 Calls for Justice, and from Aunty Barbara Wingard, a Kaurna elder.

Credentials & Regulatory Bodies
Master of Narrative Therapy and Community Work (MNTCW), Professional member of the CCPA.

Depending on requirements, Tiffany may be able to sign off on practicum or regulatory body supervision hours. Please contact Tiffany to discuss in detail.