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Workshops

In addition to guest lectures and performances Julie also provides interactive workshops that with an interactive, participatory approach for academics and professionals in the fields of medicine, disability studies, sociology and women’s studies. She also provides large and small group health and writing workshops for patients and advocates in community health settings to support individuals in becoming stronger advocates for themselves and their loved ones. To read what some of her participants have to say, check out our guestbook.

In her role as Patient-Expert, Julie has worked very closely with medical professionals and patients to study clinical interactions and strategize new ways to communicate and collaborate. She uses her own performed narratives to provoke and stimulate professionals in a way that opens dialogue. She has had tremendous success at getting participants on the stage for fun educational performance activities with their peers. These experiences have a tremendous impact on trust and skill-building for professionals as well as supporting the implentation of best practices for patient-care. According to one nurse:


“As medical professionals, we forget the impact that our rituals have on patients. We feel so safe that we can chart things and we believe that we’ve captured the experience… but do we truly know what that feels like to the individual? This performance is provocative because it destabilizes you at the same time it offers opportunities for better ways of communicating with patients. I think on some level you have to feel a bit uncomfortable in order to stimulate change and make an impact. It’s also humorous to me because we all do the same things, but are patients’ needs really being met? My Leaky Body teaches professionals what good practice looks like and how patients’ own narratives can truly support us in meeting their needs.”

— Linda Muraca MN, Nurse Clinician, Toronto

Julie is a highly-skilled professional facilitator. All workshops are customized to address particular audiences and themes. Performance content is drawn from hundreds of pages of writing about her own experiences as a patient. Workshop/seminar content is informed by extensive research on clinical interactions through a lens of disability and patient advocacy.

Workshop Themes Include Patient Experience of:

Life with a Chronic Illness, Bowel surgery, Post-operative care, Emergency Departments, Hospitalization, Pain control, Self-image with an illeostomy and Sexuality in Clinical Encounters.

She is currently based in Toronto and travels internationally for conferences and events.

To book a workshop and/or inquire about rates, contact: