Skills and Knowledge for Life Story Work with Children and Adolescents

Developing and building on the core 6-step model, this guide shows therapists and social care professionals how to take the next steps in their life story work practice with young people. It expands the framework to include common issues such as kinship care, care leavers, involving birth families, and advice for working with difficult stories.

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Life story work allows care-experienced and adopted young people to understand their histories and come to terms with their feelings about the past.

This accessible guide helps therapists and social care professionals to develop their skills to support children and families through their life story journey. It builds on the fundamental 6-step model for practice to incorporate elements from a variety of therapeutic approaches, from DDP to creative therapies. Theoretical explanations, case vignettes, and practical suggestions provide guidance on practice-based issues in life story work, such as working with parent/carer-child dyads, incorporating a birth family perspective, talking about traumatic stories, managing endings and constructing the life story book.

Essential reading for anyone undertaking life story work, this guide enhances a time-tested model with up-to-date research and new ideas for overcoming the most common challenges practitioners face when delivering life story work.