Helping us heal; how creative life story work supports individuals and organisations to recover from trauma
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21498693 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rebecca Booth (Social Work, Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 119-127 |
| Publication date | 2022-01-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Social Work Practice (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0265-0533 • E-ISSN: 1465-3885 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02650533.2021.2025349 |
| OpenAlex | W4205401725 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 28 |
This article discusses the implementation of a new creative life story work project within a statutory children’s services department of a UK Local Authority. The project looks to strengthen the use of life story work within statutory children’s social work teams, involving the introduction of a model developed by Professor Richard Rose. Staff training is provided, and creative life story groups with care experienced young people are led jointly by professional artists and children’s social care staff. As a social worker, I support the implementation of the project and offer any additional therapeutic support children attending the groups might need, including more in-depth individual therapeutic life story work. I explore here the dynamic nature of life story work in children’s social work, including a critical analysis of the use of self, and consider theoretical application and wider critiques of the model. I discuss some of the (often contested) literature in relation to trauma, before employing a psychosocial approach that draws on systemic and psychoanalytic theory in order to understand how creative life story work supports individuals and organisations in recovery from trauma and provides the potential to invite bigger questions in relation to how to reignite creativity and social pedagogy in social work practice
Creative work · Creativity · Political science · Psychoanalytic theory · Psychosocial · Psychotherapist · Public relations · Sociology · Statutory law · Child Abuse and Trauma · Child Welfare and Adoption · Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics · Engineering · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology · Social Work
Experiences in Groups
Social Constructionism
Hypothesizing, Circularity, and Neutrality Revisited
Making home visits
Ghosts in the Nursery
The enduring effects of abuse and related adverse experiences in childhood
Systematic review of organisation‐wide, trauma‐informed care models in out‐of‐home care (Oo HC ) settings
Understanding Foster Placement Instability for Looked After Children
Blinded by science
Making meaningful connections
Untold Stories
Adopters’ views on their children’s life story books
Toward an interpersonal neurobiology of the developing mind
Performing 'Initial Assessment
The Impact of Audit on Social Work Practice
How Children Become Invisible in Child Protection Work
A Case-Study in the Functioning of Social Systems as a Defence against Anxiety
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |