A Session by Session Guide to Life Story Work: A Practical Resource to Use with Looked After or Adopted Children

Life story work is a term often used to describe an approach that helps looked after and adopted children to talk and learn about their life experiences with the help of a trusted adult. This book is an essential step-by-step guide for carers and professionals seeking to carry out life story work with a traumatised or vulnerable child in their care.

Underpinned by positive psychology and drawing on up-to-date research and real-life practice, the book offers a sound theoretical understanding of life story work as well as a practical and easy-to-use programme of sessions. Each session covers the equipment and information needed, a consideration of who is best placed to carry out the work, and answers to commonly raised questions. Also discussed are age-appropriate approaches and ideas for extending each session into other activities and methods to make it more feasible for life story work to be a shared activity between two or three adults who know the child well.

This book gives professionals and carers the confidence to carry out life story work in a way that is sensitive to the child’s needs and positive for their self-perception and relationships.

Key features:

• facilitates life story work as a group activity provides a step by step guide, underpinned by positive psychology. based on up to date research and life story work practice. offers a sound theoretical understanding of life story work as well as a session by session guide

Table of Contents

Front Matter

• Preface
• Introduction
• A narrative approach to life story work
• Research around the effectiveness of using a narrative approach
• How to use this book

Session one: establishing the ground rules and feelings cards

Session two: The Tree of Life (part A)

Session three: the tree of life (part B)

Session four: A map of all the places you have lived

Session five: Birth certificate

Sessions six and seven: Co-constructing the story so far

Session eight: Stones in a jar, acknowledging different types of memories

Session nine: Origami hearts: Celebrating people who have had a positive impact

Session ten: The Team of Life, part 1: Values

Session eleven: Team of life part 2: Identifying their team and goals

Session twelve: Team of life part 3: Tackling problems

Session thirteen: Therapeutic stories

References

Appendices

• Appendix one: tree outline
• Appendix two: strength cards
• Appendix Three: feelings cards
• Appendix Four: Jar of stones activity
• Appendix five: team of life, football pitch outline

"A useful and practical book that describes a gentle approach (which is both simple and sophisticated) which is likely to in-fill emotional holes in the life history of a young person who is likely to have been maltreated."
- Dr R. J. (Sean) Cameron, writer and psychologist