ONLINE CONFERENCE

INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR LIFE STORY INNOVATION AND PRACTICE

MARCH 7th AND 8th 2024

Sharing stories with others can be a powerful way to strengthen relationships across generations, make connections, and keep our legacies alive. Stories can be shared informally or in more formal ways through narrative interviews, structured reminiscence, and life review, and using technological advances such as digital storytelling. The program will include interactive workshops, poster and paper presentations, and opportunities for networking at our awards reception on March 7th. Keynote speaker Dr. Elizabeth Keating a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin will focus on using an anthropological approach to eliciting stories and discuss questions families can use to uncover stories and bridge generations.  Please join us on March 7th and 8th as we honor our past, discuss ways to preserve our legacies, and consider what the future holds for storytelling in the digital age.

REGISTER HERE

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Elizabeth Keating is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin. She received her PhD in Anthropology from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and her B.A. in Literature from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Keating has taught anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin for over 25 years.  In addition to three books, Keating is author or co-author of over 60 academic articles and book chapters for academic audiences and has given research presentations in 15 countries. She will describe an anthropological approach to eliciting stories. Dr. Keating’s most recent book, The Essential Questions: Interview your family to Uncover Stories and Bridge Generations, Keating uses anthropology to guide families seeking greater connection and communication across different generations. 

In 2015 the organization established awards to recognize outstanding leaders in the field.  Nominated by peers, the following awards were presented at the reception:

• Robert Butler and Myrna Lewis Exemplar Research Award
  • Gerben Westerhof, PhD, Professor of Narrative Psychology, University of Twente, Netherlands

• James and Betty Birren Exemplar Practice Award
  • Sarah White, The Birren Center

• Florence Gray-Soltys Graduate Student Award for Exemplary Research or Practice in the Field of Reminiscence and Life Review
  • Yuxuan Yang, PhD, RN, University of Connecticut

• The John A. Kunz Award for Distinguished Service to the International Center for Life Story Innovations and Practice
  • Cheryl Svensson, PhD, The Birren Center

The theme of the 2022 virtual ICLIP conference was “The Healing Power of Storytelling.” Over 80 individuals representing the United States and other countries such as the Netherlands, Turkey, Australia, Canada and Belgium registered for the conference held on March 3rd and 4th, 2022.

This conference featured expert keynote speakers and presenters including 2 preconference workshops, 10 oral paper presentations, and 5 poster presentations.  The Conference Booklet presents the agenda, abstracts, and awardees.   All presenters received an invitation to publish their work in a special issue of the International Journal of Reminiscence and Life Review  which is scheduled to be published during the fall of 2022.

Keynote speakers included  Dr. Annie Brewster, of Harvard Medical School and Health Story Collaborative, and Dr. Jonathan M. Adler, Ph.D., of Olin College of Engineering and Health Story Collaborative. They described the work of their nonprofit organization, Health Story Collaborative, that translates the science of narrative identity into a variety of healing interventions.

In 2015 the organization established awards to recognize outstanding leaders in the field.  Nominated by peers, the following awards were presented at the reception:

• Robert Butler and Myrna Lewis Exemplar Research Award
  • Alison Kris, PhD, RN, Fairfield University, Connecticut

• James and Betty Birren Exemplar Practice Award
  • Wendy Bancroft, MA, Simon Fraser University, Canada

• Florence Gray-Soltys Graduate Student Award for Exemplary Research or Practice in the Field of Reminiscence and Life Review
  • Deniz Pamuk, MSc Ph.D. candidate, Akdeniz University, Dept of Gerontology, Turkey

• The John A. Kunz Award for Distinguished Service to the International Center for Life Story Innovations and Practice
  • Juliette Shellman, PhD, RN, University of Connecticut

On April 30, 2021, The International Center for Life Story Innovations and Practice held its first virtual conference marking it as a key entity in the field of reminiscence and life review.  Sixty-four individuals registered for the conference representing the U.S. from Hawaii to Connecticut. Furthermore, we had representation from the Netherlands, Jordan, Japan, and Canada. We were pleased to have faculty and student representation from the University of Connecticut.  The conference included a variety of approaches and topics representing the main themes that represent the philosophy and mission of the Center. Thank you to all our participants and special thanks to Dr. Phillipe Cappeliez, our keynote speaker.

See Schedule: Life Story Agenda

Biennial conference held in Boston, Massachusetts. President  Juliette Shellman 

Keynote Speaker:  Jefferson Singer, PhD, MPhil, MS. The Varieties of Remembered Experience: Illustrating the Utility of Reminiscence Research.

Award Presentations, Video with Faith Gibson and Reception

Florence Gray-Soltys Graduate Student Award for Exemplary Research or Practice in the Field of Reminiscence and Life Review:  Majse Lind, School of Business and Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Denmark. Personal and vicarious life stories in patients with borderline personality disorder. 

The John A. Kunz Award for Distinguished Service to the International Center for Life Story Innovations and Practice: Barbara Haight

In February 2017, IIRLR was notified by UW-Superior that they would no longer support the Institute. The end date June 30, 2019 was set. The proposal to transition to the UCONN School of Nursing and apply to become a Center was approved by the Institute’s Advisory Board and its membership at the biennial meeting in Boston on November 13th, 2018.

Biennial conference held in Orlando, Florida. President Juliette Shellman

Keynote Speaker:  Harry “Rick” Moody, PhD.  Dreams and Life-Review

Awardees:  

Robert Butler and Myrna Lewis Exemplar Research Award:  Brian de Vries, Ph.D.

James and Betty Birren Exemplar Practice Award:  Cheryl Svensson, Ph.D.

Florence Gray-Soltys Graduate Student Award for Exemplary Research or Practice in the Field of Reminiscence and Life Review:  Kendra O’Hora, LGMFT, Department of Human Development, Virginia Tech. The Life Validation Interview: Application and Future Research

The John A. Kunz Award for Distinguished Service to the International Center for Life Story Innovations and Practice:  Donna Sislo  First Year for John Kunz Award

Guidelines for IIRLR operation approved

Biennial conference held in New Orleans, Louisiana 2013. President Philippe Cappeliez

Keynote Speaker:  Thomas Meuser, PhD, Associate Professor, Director, Gerontology

Graduate Program, Coordinator, UMSL Life Review Project, School of Social Work, University of Missouri, St. Louis, MO, USA. UMSL Life Review Project: Stories from the Trenches

The preliminary plans for the RLSW certificate program were introduced to a group of IIRLR members at this conference to get their input/advise/suggestions/recommendations.

Awardees 

Robert Butler and Myrna Lewis Exemplar Research Award:  Susan Bluck, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainsville, FL, USA

Recognizing the Bonanza: Life Review in 2013

James and Betty Birren Exemplar Practice Award:  Thomas W. Pierce, PhD, Department of Psychology, Radford University, Radford, VA, USA. Multimedia and the Practice of Reminiscence and Life Review. 

Florence Gray-Soltys Graduate Student Award for Exemplary Research or Practice in the Field of Reminiscence and Life Review: Jojanneke Korte, University of Twente, The  Netherlands.  The Stories We Live By: The Adaptive Role of Reminiscence In Later Life

Biennial conference held in Boston 2011. President Mary O’Brien Tyrrell

In Memoriam:  John Allan Kunz - July 18, 1955 - July 23, 2011

Keynote Speaker:  Jennifer Wortham, LCSW, CT, Transitions: The Heart of Grieving

The Art of Grieving: Healing Through Exploration and Play

Awardees 

Robert Butler and Myrna Lewis Exemplar Research Award:  Toyoko Nomura, PhD, Professor, Tokyo University, Tokyo, Japan. “Weaving People, Time and Community Together in the Light of Reminiscence and Life Review Approach”

James and Betty Birren Exemplar Practice Award: Pam Schweitzer, MBE, BA, Honorary Literature, PGC E, Founder & Artistic Director, Age Exchange Theatre Trust, London, England

Making Memories Matter: Reminiscence and Creativity

Florence Gray-Soltys Graduate Student Award for Exemplary Research or Practice in the Field of Reminiscence and Life Review: Dorvat Harel, PhD Student, Bar IIan University, Israel. The Unforgotten Story - a Literary Analysis Of Life Stories of Older Adults with Dementia

Biennial conference held in Atlanta, Georgia 2009. President Thomas Pierce

Keynote Speaker

Susan Bluck, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Florida, USA.  Living Parallel Lives: Reminiscence and autobiographical memory research

Awardees 

Robert Butler and Myrna Lewis Exemplar Research Award: Philippe Cappeliez, PhD, C.Psych, Professor, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Future Of The Past: Some developmental reflections and Jeffrey Dean Webster, MEd, Instructor, Psychology Department, Langara College, Vancouver, BC, Canada. The Future Of The Past: Some developmental reflections.

James and Betty Birren Exemplar Practice Award:  John Kunz, BSW, MS, Outreach Program Manager, University of Wisconsin-Superior, Health & Human Issues, Center for Continuing

Education/Extension, Superior, WI, USA

Florence Gray-Soltys Graduate Student Award for Exemplary Research or Practice in the Field of Reminiscence and Life Review:  Patricia O’Neill, JD, MSG, MA, MS, Vail, Colorado, USA, Gender Differences Reflected in Autobiography: How men and women interpret their lives.  First Year for the Florence Gray-Soltys Award

Biennial conference held in San Francisco, California. President Brian de Vries

This conference was dedicated in memory of Florence Gray Soltys, who had been the president of the International Institute for Reminiscence and Life Review. She was on the planning committee for the first conference in 1995 and was one of the founding board members of the organization at the conclusion of that conference. Her passion for the practice, evaluation and teaching of reminiscence and life review approaches led to countless workshops, articles, videos, and her book with John Kunz, Transformational Reminiscence: Life Story Work. Her efforts helped make the group and conference what it is today and the foundation she helped build will continue to grow in the spirit in which she served.

Keynote Speaker

Gene Cohen, MD, PhD, Director of the Center on Aging, Health & Humanities at George Washington University, Washington DC, USA

Ongoing Psychological Growth with Aging: Autobiography and The Summing Up Phase

Awardees 

Robert Butler and Myrna Lewis Exemplar Research Award:  Peter G. Coleman, PhD Department of Psychology, University of Southampton, Highfield,

Southampton, UK. Memory and Responsibility:   

James and Betty Birren Exemplar Practice Award:  Barbara K. Haight, RNC, DRPH, FAAN, Professor Emeritus, College of Nursing, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA. The Structured Life Review Process.

The IIRLR received a grant from the Met Life Foundation to have the proceedings book printed in three languages, English, Spanish, and Japanese. 

John Kunz and Florence Gray-Soltys new book, Transformation Reminiscence: Life Story Work.

Biennial conference held in Orlando, Florida. President Florence Gray Soltys 

Keynote Speaker

William L. Randall, AB, MDiv, ThM, EdD, Associate Professor in Gerontology, St. Thomas University - Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.  Reading Our Lives: Reflections On the Poetics of Reminiscence

Awardees

This is the First year for the Awards:  International Institute for Reminiscence and Life Review Inaugural Awards Reception In celebration of the 10th Anniversary Presentations.

Two inaugural awards were given. They are the Robert Butler and Myrna Lewis Exemplar Research Award and the James and Betty Birren Exemplar Practice Awards.

The Robert Butler and Myrna Lewis Exemplar Research Award:  Robert Butler

The James and Betty Birren Exemplar Practice Award:  James Birren

Faith Gibson published, The Past in the Present.

Biennial conference held in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. President Jeffrey Webster

Keynote Speaker:  David Kuhl, M.D., What Dying People Want

Educational videos:   The Joys and Surprises of Telling Your Life Story, created by John Kunz and Mary O’Brien Tyrrell

An Unlikely Friendship:  Florence Gray Soltys  

Jeffrey Webster and Barbara Haight published the book, Critical Advances in Reminiscence Work: From Theory to Practice.

Biennial conference held in Chicago, Illinois (Institute). President Peter Coleman

Keynote Speaker:  Dan McAdams Reflections on Life Stories in America Today:  The Redemptive Self

Biennial conference held in Superior, Wisconsin (Society). President John Kunz

Keynote Speaker:  Robert Butler, Looking Back, Looking Forward

The organization became a program of UW-Superior in 1997, which meant the Center for Continuing Education (CCE) had fiduciary and legal authority and responsibility for the Institute. 

At this conference, the plan to make biennial conferences an integral part of the IIRLR was proposed. The purpose was to bring together researchers, clinicians, educators, students, and older adults themselves to further expand the field of reminiscence and life review.

National Reminiscence and Life Review Conference was held in August of 1995 as part of Center for Continuing Education (CCE),  in Superior, Wisconsin. President John Kunz

Presenters:  Robert Butler, Betty Davis, Barbara Haight, Edmund Sherman, Mark Therrien and Kathleen Woodward.

At that first conference, the International Society for Reminiscence and Life Review  (ISRLR) was founded by John Kunz at the urging of Robert N. Butler, the keynote speaker. John had just met him that morning when he introduced him at the conference. Meeting Dr. Butler influenced both the development of what became the International Institute for Reminiscence and Life Review and John’s own personal and professional development.

Robert Butler became a strong voice in support of the ISRLR and conferences. He spoke pro bono on many occasions. John visited his office in NYC and looked through all of his files on reminiscence and life review that were kept in a cabinet with pictures of him and many US Presidents and other dignitaries across the top.  He donated some papers that are being archived for the IIRLR website.

The first mission statement of the International Society for Reminiscence and Life Review was to further define and develop the interdisciplinary field of reminiscence and life review through discussion and collaboration in practice, research, education, volunteer and individual applications across the lifespan.

Barbara Haight and Jeffrey Webster edited the book, The Art and Science of Reminiscing: Theory, Research, Methods and Applications.