Therapeutic Life Story Work
When Children are removed from their birth parents, and are unfortunate to experience placement breakdowns, their past history can become fragmented like the pieces of a puzzle and scattered among those that have come into contact with them. This can leave a child feeling vulnerable, confused, lost, and lack a sense of belonging.
Therapeutic Life Story Work is an intervention technique which allows the child the opportunity to explore and understand the past events of their life.
A child-centred therapeutic approach is used to give the child a voice and a safe space to explore their emotions and make sense of their past experiences. They can begin to understand what relation the past has on their current behaviours and process their thoughts and feelings.
Information is gathered from interviews with the child’s primary carer and official records to fill in the gaps in the child’s knowledge and give the child a sense of belonging.
The child is supported to work through any attachment issues and behaviours and strengthen the relationship between the child and their parent/carer as they explore the child’s history together.
The child is given ownership of their own story and the opportunity to create their life on a road and family tree to take on their future journey.
When children experience traumas, they can carry these around with them forever, making everyday life very difficult. If a child is supported therapeutically, then they are able to understand and make sense of their experiences with a positive outcome.
