Therapeutic Life Story Work

Therapeutic Life Story Work (TLSW) helps children, young people, and adults to make sense of their lives when difficult and upsetting events have occurred. It is particularly helpful for look-after and adopted children as their stories may be fragmented and contain experiences of abuse, abandonment, and neglect. Through the process of talking therapy, play and creative art activities these fragments are pieced together so the individual develops deeper understanding about themselves, what has happened to them, and the world around them.

This approach has three main stages, The Information Bank, The Internalisation, and the Life Story Book.

The Information Bank – This stage involves the careful and in depth gathering of historical information both pre and post birth for the child which provides a greater insight into the child’s early life experiences. This information opens up details of the child’s trauma and provides an insight into how the child perceives themselves and the world around them.

The Internalisation – This is the stage that covers the therapeutic sessions with the child. Through this therapeutic process and the relationship with their carer, the child can develop further insight into their responses to. Often this can present in a variety of behaviours and without knowledge of the child’s history it is difficult to see the communication behind them. By supporting the child’s awareness of this and the influences it has upon their present, there is an opportunity to change, move forward and develop a positive sense of self.

The Life Story Book – This is composed towards the end of the child’s therapeutic journey and comprises of the information and work completed by the child over the course of their sessions. The child helps design the book eg fonts, pictures etc which helps them to take ownership over it and aids their understanding of the journey that they have completed.

Useful Link:

Therapeutic Life Story Work International:

https://tlswi.com/

For more information, please contact Sarah on 07903 651553 or email her at info@trinitypsychotherapy.co.uk