Children separated from their birth families are often denied the opportunity to know about their past and to clarify past events in terms of the present. Losing track of the past can make it difficult for children to develop emotionally and socially. Life story work is an attempt to give back this past to children separated from their birth families. It can help children to begin to accept their past and move forwards positively into the future, and give them a structured and understandable way of talking about themselves. It also enables adults working with children to listen to them and respect their views and wishes. "Life Story Work" is an authoritative guide that will help anyone who wants to use life story work as a way of helping children. In this comprehensively revised and attractively illustrated edition, Tony Ryan and Rodger Walker, both experienced practitioners, have updated the previous edition in light of all recent legislation, incorporated substantial new material from other contributors, and presented a creative assortment of useful techniques and exercises for adults working with children in different settings. In addition to the tried and tested techniques that have made this book the bestselling guide that it is, the new edition takes into account the use of computer-aided technology in life story work. It explains how new interactive media can be particularly helpful for many children, and describes some new interactive resources that have done this successfully. "Life Story Work" is an invaluable aid for anyone working directly with children, social workers, adoptive parents and foster carers, residential staff, teachers and nursery nurses.

Table of Contents

Introduction; Why do life story work?; Communicating with children; Before starting life story work; Getting started; Some questions answered; Helping the child to talk about feelings; Some elements of a life story book; Bridging: past, present and future; Beyond life story work; Working with black children; Working with groups; Working with children with a disability; Working with children who have been sexually abused; Life story work in other settings; An interactive approach to life story work; Interactive packages for life story work; After life story work; References; Further reading.

About the Author

Tony Ryan is an independent social work consultant. He was previously a manager for the Fieldwork Services team at Catholic Care in Leeds. Rodger Walker is a resource team manager for the fostering and adoption team at Leeds City Council.