Narrative Bridge is an innovative communications & culture firm that brings sustainable Narrative Medicine training to education, healthcare, and other mission-driven organizations.
TRUSTED BY BRANDS
WHAT WE DO
We build communities of people who trust and better understand one another, increasing the capacity for active listening, creative problem-solving and innovation.
As Columbia-trained Narrative Medicine facilitators and strategic advisors, we use innovative, story-led tools and research-driven analysis to help organizations find remedies for employee stress and burnout, authentically develop leadership teams, enable social change, engage in staff healing, and promote workplace diversity.
OUR PROGRAMS
01.
Employee and Practitioner Burnout: Stress Reduction
Narrative Medicine helps organizations reduce employee burnout and stress by allowing participants to tell their own stories and hear the stories of their colleagues in a creative and compassionate environment. Using art, music, and literature prompts, as well as personal writing sessions, employees are encouraged to give voice to their own experiences, deepening trust, building empathy and reducing feelings of isolation. When applied in regular increments and supported by corporate leadership, Narrative Medicine has shown significant results in decreased stress levels for employees of all levels.
02.
Authentic Leadership Development
Our leadership development work centers around the personal narratives of each individual, the collective story of the group, and the narratives of the specific challenges encountered by each leadership team.
Leaders depart with training in addressing implicit bias, honed active listening abilities, a shared sense of purpose, and a clear roadmap for fostering authentic and transparent communication in the future.
03.
Team Collaboration and Healing
Active Listening is a key component of Narrative Medicine. In our specialized sessions, Narrative Medicine practitioners work to build understanding and empathy within teams experiencing communication challenges. Our sessions explore how teams can more constructively work through issues and deepen trust to build a more sustainable and compassionate team structure.
04.
Equity and Social Change
The act of listening to others is more crucial now than it ever has been. Individuals and groups who feel silenced or marginalized can reclaim their voices and build a capacity for authentic communication, resilience and innovation.
WHY NARRATIVE MEDICINE?
Using narrative medicine-led prompts and exercises, teams learn how to radically listen to one another as they share their stories, opening stronger and healthier lines of communication, bolstering relationships across the organization and promoting innovation and creative problem solving.
Because our programs get to the true driver of human behavior—people’s individual experiences—our work brings about real and lasting change within organizations that ripples out into patient and local communities.
Narrative Medicine is a multidisciplinary approach to healing that recognizes the impact our stories have on our lives.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Our work is guided by the belief that equilibrium and harmony are the driving forces of change.
We use the lemniscate symbol to represent the continuous cycle of birthing consciousness, awakening the ethical heart, letting go of what no longer serves and finding deeper understanding and harmony in the process. We believe we are all interconnected in the work we do and that the healthiest communities are built in this cycle of rebirth and renewal.
MEET THE FOUNDERS
Ssanyu Birigwa—
Ssanyu Birigwa is a Narrative Medicine Clinician, Indigenous Bone Healer and Adjunct Professor for the Master of Science Narrative Medicine program at Columbia University. A nonprofit executive with 15+ years experience building healthier communities, she is now the co-founder of Narrative Bridge and a world-renowned expert on the intersectionality of health and spirituality. A recipient of the 2016-2017 Columbia University Narrative Medicine Fellowship, Ssanyu speaks on world stages about the key role storytelling and spirituality play in healing, especially in healthcare settings. She most recently lectured at the International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society at the Sorboonne Universite Paris; John Hopkins Interprofessional Telemedicine Education Symposium; and the Saint Lukes SLUHN Diabetes Symposium. She has led Narrative Medicine courses for SocMed and the Soros Foundation in Uganda and Rwanda, hosted the Narrative Medicine Rounds at Columbia University and taught workshops at Kripalu, NYU and the Boston school system. Previously, Ssanyu was a lecturer of Narrative Medicine at the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education (CUNY) and Brooklyn Hospital, addressing issues related to physician resident burnout and suicide.
Katelyn Connor—
Katelyn Connor, co-founder of Narrative Bridge, received her Master's in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University in 2016. She has almost a decade of experience in publishing, corporate education, and higher education. She currently works in Sales and Learning & Development at a large publishing house in New York City, and teaches writing courses at three New York City-based universities. Her research interests include caregiving, death & dying, and spirituality.