Therapeutic Life Story Work
For local authorities, adoption and fostering organisations as well as adopters, carers and all professionals involved in the care and support of children and young people who do not live with their birth parents.
What is Therapeutic Life Story Work?
Our practitioners use the proven Rose model of Therapeutic Life Story Work approach to support children. Created and pioneered by Professor Richard Rose, this approach is designed to enable children to explore, question and understand the past events of their lives. It aims to secure their future through strengthening attachment with their carers and providing opportunity to develop a healthy sense of self and feeling of wellbeing.
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Therapeutic Life Story work is a practical and engaging intervention. The therapist works alongside their young person and their caregiver, or significant person of trust.
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It provides looked-after and adopted children (but can also be used to help children with loss and significant change) with a narrative of their life and enables healing from the trauma of abuse, abandonment and neglect through talking therapy, play and art activities that are recorded by using wallpaper.
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We record all the activities, what we share and do together on a really long roll of paper, providing a visual reminder and record of what we accomplish. The therapist will use multiple therapeutic tools and games to demonstrate concepts in this psycho-educative piece of work.
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With greater appreciation for what has gone before, children, young people and their parents/carers can begin to develop an understanding of feelings, behaviours and cognitive processes in the present, and help to redefine the future.
Who can Therapeutic Life Story Work support?
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Children/young people and adults who have experienced early life trauma/loss.​
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Fostering/Special guardianship/adoption families at risk of breaking down.​
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Children/young people and adults struggling with their sense of identity and self.​
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Young people and adults who have unanswered questions about their past.
What is the difference between Life Story Work and Therapeutic Life Story Work, Rose Model
Life Story Work is a social work intervention looking to explain to children/young people the narrative of their life, so they can better understand their family history and are supported with the development of their identity as they grow up.
Therapeutic Life Story Work, Rose Model develops this work much further, adopting therapeutic models to work through the child’s story with them, with the use of the wallpaper, thus privileging the processing and recording of the story, as opposed to the end product of a life story book. This enables children who have experienced trauma to not only understand their own stories and identity, but further to open a therapeutic space for them to process this. This enhances their growth and development, socially, emotionally, psychologically, physiologically, behaviourally and academically.
What are the benefits of Therapeutic Life Story Work?
Children and young people can be gently guided through the minefield of information relating to their birth family and the reasons for change of circumstance, including: adoption, special guardianship, kinship care and/or foster care. This work is carried out alongside the primary carer and the child/young person, thereby strengthening attachments and relationships within the home. The child/young person's thoughts and feelings are explored, leading to a deeper understanding of identity, whilst building self-esteem and value. TLSW is about meaning - as the child gains a deeper insight and acceptance of their own life narrative, behaviours can change. In turn this supports a more robust, mature, socially competent and independent personality. Finally, the child/young person is involved in the creation of a bespoke therapeutic life story work book, as a permanent factual and meaningful record of their life journey and the work undertaken in TLSW.
