THE accepted wisdom is that stories and storytelling are something for children which people leave behind as they enter the adult world.

But now new research has found that both telling tales and listening to stories can not only improve people's mental health, but even help them to heal after physical trauma.

Former National Storytelling Laureate Katrice Horsely has used stories for purposes great and small, from aiding resolution of conflicts around the world and to helping children deal with the loss of a loved one.

This week, she will speak at the Village Storytelling Festival in Glasgow about her experiences and of the way the medical world is slowly turning to stories as a form of therapy for people in the most desperate of straits.

She says that stories can inspire, and entertain - but above all they help build up the brain in ways that only exercise was previously assumed to do.

She said: "We know that toxic stress shortens the telemores (which affect how our cells age) on the ends of our chromosomes and we know that stress causes a physiological as well as pyschological change to the body. But mindfulness and physical exercise can help grow those telemores and also help re-wire the brain.

"Stories do interesting things to the brain. When you hear a long narrative or read a book, you follow the physical actions of the characters, such as running, moving, lifting up a sword and so on and also the emotions.

"Studies have found that your brain will respond to these descriptions as though you were doing them yourself, almost as though you are in the physical body of the protagonist."

She added: "So listening to stories and being immersed in the spoken narrative will help heal the brain almost as much as exercise will. This is an incredible tool to improve people's well-being, especially those of children who have suffered trauma at an early age."

Katrice, whose background is in child development, now works as a Narrative consultant and has been employed by UNICEF, the UNHCR, the British Council and the British Heart Foundation.

She has worked in Gaza and Ghana, where she says she saw stories used among the less literate sections of society to promote change and resolve conflicts.

She said: "Stories can be used as a conduit between people. They contain metaphors which others will pick up on to understand someone's point of view.

"I come from what could be considered a 'toxic' background, and had a hard childhood. But I had lots and lots of stories told to me and grew up with a real love of them.

"I disappeared into stories and when that happens you enter unto an almost meditative state. When that happens you find that it makes you mindful and counter-balances whatever stress you are going through at that current time."

The Storytelling Festival is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year and features an international line-up of performers and guests this year.

Highlights range from a musical re-telling of the Malian folk tale The Old Woman, the Buffalo and the Lion of Manding by Jan Blake and musicians Kuoame and Raymond Sereba, and a parkour perfomance from pupils at St Paul's Academy, to films and discussions on what counts as storytelling in a modern society.

The Centre's Executive Director Emma Collins said that spoken narratives and other forms of storytelling had the power to transform people's lives.

She said: "We see examples of Katrice's work in what we do here at the Village. We work with a lot of disadvantaged and vulnerable children's groups and know that stories can have a therapeutic effect.

"We teach them to come up with their own stories about themselves, and when they tell that and have someone listen to them it gives them a sense of worth.

"It is a very positive thing as they may not have had someone listen to them before. Just being able to tell their own narrative gives them a confidence they would not get elsewhere."

The Storytelling Festival takes place at the Centre for Contemporary Arts, in Sauchiehall St, Glasgow, from March 22 – 26