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Welcome to Healing Story Alliance

Founded over 25 years ago, Healing Story Alliance is an alliance of artists and practitioners who view storytelling as a healing art. HSA currently offers dynamic programming and online resources that promote healing of the self, society, and the earth. We are no longer a member-based organization requiring dues. We welcome anyone into our circle who is interested in the healing power of story to bring about positive change. Join our new mailing list to keep abreast of our offerings! Join our Listserv to engage in robust conversation on the power of healing story.


Upcoming Events




OARS in the Water Series

ONGOING BI-MONTHLY EVENT!
Keeping Our Oars In The Water:
Gathering To Bear Witness To Experiences
And Stories Of Vulnerability And Resilience

We’ll gather via Zoom. Here is the NEW link:

Hosted by Elisa Pearmain and Joel Ying

What helps you feel safe to share stories? What helps others feel safe to share stories? How can we create more safe spaces for story? Let’s explore these questions together.

OARS in the Water is a facilitated Zoom gathering on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month offered by Healing Story Alliance to create a listening space to share the experiences and stories that have emerged through turbulent times. This is not a therapeutic circle, but we do hope it will be healing, supportive and inspiring. Admission is free, although donations are deeply appreciated and help support our programming. Your tax deductible donation can be made here:

About our Hosts for May 8th

Elisa Pearmain has been telling stories professionally since 1987, and always with a penchant for the many healing benefits of story. She is the award-winning author of 52 Wisdom Tales from Around The World, Once Upon a Time: Storytelling to Teach Character and Prevent Bullying, and the double CD Forgiveness: Telling Our Stories in New Ways. Elisa is also a Psychotherapist in private practice, is on the Advisory Board of the Healing Story Alliance, and is chair of the HSA Programming Committee.

Dr. Joel Ying is a Physician-Educator-Storyteller. In this age of information, it is not the facts and figures that inspire, but rather it is the power of story to create emotion and move us into action. Believing in the powerful medicine of story, Dr. Joel teaches “Storytelling as Healing” and produces events at Florida Gulf Coast University. He performs regularly with an eclectic collection of world folk tales and personal stories.





NEWS! The Book upon which this concert is based has won a Storytelling World Award!





ABOUT the Healing Story Alliance Website

This website offers resources, guidance and practical applications for storytelling, revealing and reflecting the many facets of healing story in the world today and in the past. In addition to bibliographies, and links, there is a library of articles on Healing Stories and Storytelling. Our acclaimed Journal, Diving in the Moon: Honoring Story, Facilitating Healing, is available from 2013-2017 as an e-journal on the HSA website.

All authored writing on the Healing Story Alliance website is the copyrighted property of its author. These resources are intended for not-for-profit educational use. Any commercial use of resources on this website must be arranged directly with the author of the text or video.

Many are drawn to our site in search of answers or resources for dealing with the pain and tragedy of turbulent current events in the personal, social and global realms. This interest is addressed in our compilations of stories which we encourage you to explore.

  • Healing Treasures: Stories intended to precipitate conversation, and guide teaching and healing with participants.
  • Stories We Live: Personal stories and methods for gathering and applying life experiences as healing references.
  • Stories for Children in Crisis: Compiled by Laura Simms, includes stories, articles, and links, drawn from years of research and professional work with children.
  • Stories for Peace: storytelling in pursuit of peace and understanding.
  • Healing the Earth: featuring stories contributed by storytellers working in environmental settings or on educational projects with an environmental theme.

HSA was a long standing Special Interest Group of the National Storytelling Network. In 2022 it became fiscally sponsored by Story Arts Inc, a NY state 501(c)(3) arts organization dedicated to the fine art of storytelling and to its educational applications. Story Arts is directed by Heather Forest. As a subsidiary project of Story Arts Inc., HSA functioned as a not-for-profit arts organization under Story Arts Inc.’s fiscal umbrella while establishing it’s own not-for-profit organization in New York State. In January 2023 HSA Inc. received IRS recognition as an independent 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Healing Story Alliance Inc is now an NSN Collaborative Partner.


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