COURRAGE Workshops
The COURRAGE workshops are a collective space designed for women who have endured hardships—violence, abuse, trauma—and who carry with them much more than their wounds: knowledge, resources, and a story that deserve to be seen and acknowledged.
This methodology was developed in 2014 by Ncazelo Ncube-Mlilo, a South African narrative therapist and psychologist, and founder of the Johannesburg-based PHOLA association. It aims to support women facing violence, abuse, and complex trauma—a method now being shared with practitioners around the world.
It is rooted in Narrative Practices developed by Michael White and David Epston. It is based on a fundamental principle: the problems and difficulties you face do not define who you are. These problems are embedded in social, cultural, and historical contexts that precede and transcend them. Childhood sexual abuse is not an isolated event that happens to individual victims. It is a societal scourge, a socially constructed problem.
In eight steps, the method creates the conditions for each participant to deconstruct the dominant narratives surrounding the subject and reclaim her own story—not by erasing what happened, but by reframing it in relation to her own path to healing.
This approach does not require for you to relive the pain. During these workshops, you will never be asked to recount what happened to you. On the contrary, this approach celebrates resilience, stories of resistance, and social justice in the face of the scourge of abuse. It invites you to look at what you have built despite adversity.
COURRAGE is an acronym that represents the stages of our collective journey:
C Celebrate
The first stage celebrates survival. The group explores various cultural ways of celebrating survival. It honors the courage of women who, as survivors of incest and childhood sexual abuse, continue to build their lives with courage and resilience.
O Our skills
What skills, knowledge, and hopes have sustained us in the face of adversity? Everyone takes steps to ensure that problems don’t take over their entire lives. But these sources of resilience and these skills are rarely recognised or honoured. Yet they show powerfully what we value most.
U Understand the origin of our skills
We trace the history of these skills, this knowledge and these hopes that have sustained us through adversity. When we realise that they are rooted in our history and that they connect us to wider communities, a sense of belonging takes root around the values they embody.
R Remember our stories of resilience
Participants have this space to share their journeys of resilience. Having an audience for these stories of courage is a powerful source of recognition and empowerment for the progress they have made.
R Reframe the adversity as socially constructed
Re-examining issues and adversity from a social perspective and challenging dominant narratives. Rather than seeing themselves as isolated victims, the participants can witness themselves as survivors and spokeswomen on socially constructed scourges.
A Appreciating other's contributions and support
Revisiting and affirming our social circle with the people who matter to us is fundamental to the journey towards resilience. Recognising their contributions connects us to the people who are important in our lives.
G Guarding what is precious to us
What is valuable about this journey? Reconnecting with our core values and our intentions in our relationships is a powerful driving force on the path to healing. How do we want to put this into practice in our daily lives? How do we reclaim the power to shape the level of forgiveness that is adequate for each one of us?
E Envisioning the future
To look to the future reclaiming our narrative rights as authors of our own life, free from the voice of abuse, shame and the social narratives that diminish us.
These workshops are flexible and will be tailored to the participants’ needs and wishes. The narrative approach is a collaborative process. Each stage draws on narrative questions, shared stories and, depending on the context, cultural forms of expression. The progression is not linear: it follows the group’s pace.
Important note: These workshops are not a substitute for therapeutic support. They may be an excellent complement ro such support. If you are in a crisis situation, it is advisable to seek help from a specialist. Please do not hesitate to contact me before registering so that we can assess together whether this format is suitable for you at the stage of your journey.
COURRAGE workshop facilitator: Fabiola Ortiz
Why address the issue of childhood sexual abuse? I am a survivor myself. I was five years old the first time it happened. For years, I tried to erase the memory. I kept quiet. Then, one day, forty-five years after the events, I decided to speak out. I decided that the shame must shift sides.
I have been supporting women in different kinds of empowerment journey for over fifteen years. What I have observed is that, behind issues of self-confidence, often lies an experience of childhood abuse. The most important: behind that experience, lies a story of resilience that no one has yet named and told. That is what I seek to bring to light.
What led me to run COURRAGE workshops is the strong belief that women do not come to a coaching process empty-handed. They come with a lifetime of resilience and wisdom. My job is to create the space for this to become visible and the stories to be told and acknowledged.
As a Narrative Practitioner and founder of IthaCoach (2013), I was trained in the COURRAGE methodology by Ncazelo Ncube-Mlilo herself.
Enrolment requirements:
10 in-person or online workshops, each lasting 2 hours
Each workshop takes place every two or three weeks
Group size: 6 to 8 participants
Fee per participant: 800 EUR for the full programme of workshops
Programme introductory price:
600 EUR for the full programme of workshops
The first programme starts in September 2026
Information and registration: fabiola.ortiz@ithacoach.eu