What Exactly Is Life Story Work: Bringing Clarity and Busting Common Myths

Busting the Myths

One of the biggest misconceptions is that Life Story Work is only for social workers. While social workers do play a vital role, this work is so much broader. Whether you’re part of a children’s home, a foster family, a kinship carer, an adopter, or even a teacher in a school setting, Life Story Work is relevant to you. Children benefit most when the adults around them share responsibility for weaving their story into daily life, making it a lived, ongoing process rather than a one-off piece of work.

Life Story Work vs. Therapeutic Life Story Work

Another area of confusion lies in the difference between Life Story Work and Therapeutic Life Story Work. While Life Story Work can be integrated into day-to-day caregiving and educational practice, Therapeutic Life Story Work involves a more formalised, structured approach delivered by trained professionals. Both, however, share the same goal: to help children and young people build understanding, connection, and emotional resilience through their story.

Bringing It Into Your Setting

So how can you bring Life Story Work into your setting? It starts with simple, everyday actions - creating space for conversations, validating feelings, and helping children piece together the “why” behind their experiences, and for those wanting to go deeper, training and workshops can provide the knowledge and tools to do this work safely and effectively.

If you’re curious about exploring this further, whether through training or by accessing Therapeutic Life Story Work, we’d love to hear from you. Together, we can ensure every child has the opportunity to know, own, and grow from their story.

Join us on the journey - because every story matters. 💜

Head to our website for more information about our next workshop to support your Life Story Work journey: https://www.therapeuticblueprint.com/event-details/the-power-of-story-life-story-workshop-1