Life story work is one of the key therapeutic approaches to working with adopted or fostered children. While it sounds simple, there is more to this work than producing photo albums or memory boxes for children.
This accessible book is full of tested techniques and creative ideas for professionals who may have little time and few resources, but who need to carry out life story work that works. The author describes the conditions needed to carry out life story work and feature activities to accompany each of the stages covered: emotional literacy, building resilience, exploring identity, sharing information and looking to the future.
This book will be a vital tool for social workers, foster carers, students and any frontline practitioner involved in working with traumatised children.
Contents:
- Acknowledgements.
- Introduction.
- 1. Building the Foundations for Life Story Work.
- 2. Building a Sense of Safety for the Child
- 3. Emotional Literacy.
- 4. Building Resilience and Self-esteem.
- 5. Identity.
- 6. Information Sharing and Integration.
- 7. Looking to the Future.
- References. Index.
Author Bio:
Katie Wrench is a qualified therapeutic social worker, art psychotherapist and foster carer.
Lesley Naylor is also an experienced therapeutic social worker and play therapist who facilitates a life story consultation clinic. Both authors work with children and young people who are fostered or adopted, provide specialist consultation and training to frontline social care practitioners and foster carers around life story work and are based in Leeds, UK.
Review:
It is an ideal resource for those who undertake direct work with children and provides very imaginative and useful practical exercises to carry out with children in the course of doing life story work with them. The book has a very clear structure…is well referenced and evidence-based and shows comprehensively why life story work is so important to children in care… the exercises… equally applicable to other forms of direct work with children, such as for children’s guardians, children’s social workers and residential social workers… This book brings together a variety of very stimulating and creative ideas… for those who like to work imaginatively therapeutically and creatively with children.
