When we met Rowan he had lived with his
foster carer since he was six years old. Prior to this he lived with his mum and siblings. Rowan was the youngest of five children. During the time he had lived with his mum Rowan had not always had enough food, he had attended school sporadically, he had
moved home 4 times due to his family being evicted, and he had witnessed
domestic violence.
In foster care Rowan worried about a lot of things, he worried he would have to move again, that his siblings weren't safe (they did not live with him in foster care), that there would be fighting in his foster home, and that there would not always be food there for him. Even though he had lived with his foster care for three years and there had never been fighting and there had always been food he worried about these things every day. Because Rowan was always worried he would fidget, he couldn't concentrate, he sometimes did odd things like hoarding food, or (when he was really worried) picking the wallpaper and eating it.
Therapeutic Life Story Work first of all helped Rowan identify all of the worries he had and talk to his therapist about them. His therapist then made a life story plan that over the course of the therapy would help Rowan identify why he may be worried (because of past experiences), why things were different where he lived now, how he could be certain he was safe, why he did not need to worry about his siblings and what to do when he did worry. Rowan attended therapy every fortnight for nine months. By the end of the therapy Rowan understood how his past was contributing to his worries and why he could be confident he did not have to have these worries in his foster placement. Rowan fidgeted less, he could concentrate more and when he was worried (which was far less often) he talked to his carer. He stopped eating wallpaper and he stopped hoarding food. Rowan reported "I learnt that I had a difficult time but I am glad I learnt about this because it helped me see how things are different now. I feel happier and I don't worry about everything all of the time".