Life Story Work
Helping Young People Understand Their History & Process Trauma
Trauma Processing
Achieve A Certificate in Life Story Listening
What Is Life Story Listening (LSL)?
Life Story Listening is the foundational approach to Life Story Work from The Five Approaches To Life Story Work. It is all about creating a space where a young person can share their story at their own pace. Whether it’s a conversation about their past or little details they mention in everyday discussion, the focus is on listening, not guiding the conversation. The role of the listener is to offer comfort, co-regulate with the young person, and show empathy.
The Certificate in Life Story Listening includes core training in Life Story Work that everyone caring for, or working with care experienced young people should have at a foundational level. It covers key topics such as at what age Life Story Work should take place, how to respond when young people talk about difficult information, and what to do when you don't have answers to their questions.
Who Is Life Story Listening For?
Foster Carers, Special Guardians, Adoptive Parents, Social Care, Health and Educational Professionals wanting to gain a foundation in Life Story Work
- If you are new to Life Story Work
- If you do not have access to young people's background information
- If you want to progress to other more intensive approaches to Life Story Work
- If you support a young person who talks about their past and you feel ill-equipped to respond
- If you are a wider family member who wants to know more about Life Story Work so you can provide support
- If you come into contact with care experienced young people as part of your working role
Check Out the BJSW Published Paper: What is Life Story Work? How defining approaches can bring clarity to research, training & practice (Neal & Matthews, 2024)
Training Dates
January 28th
2025
February 21st
2025
March 12th
2025
April 10th
2025
May 14th
2025
June 17th
2025
When you sign up to the Life Story Listening Certificate you gain access to all online training dates, to attend the date that best suits you.
The Five Approaches
Life Story Listening
Life Story Listening is the least intensive approach to Life Story Work, intended for caregivers and supporters of care-experienced young people who may not have in-depth information or are unable to provide it. This foundational knowledge will enable you to offer empathetic, non-traumatising support and help you recognise when more intensive Life Story Work approaches may be needed. By becoming a skilled listener, you’ll be able to respond appropriately, identify when further Life Story Work support might benefit the young person, and understand what information to share to enhance other approaches.
The Certificate in Life Story Listening is also foundational for those wanting to use more intensive approaches.
The five approaches from least to most intensive
What Is Included?
Life Story Listening Training
- What: A four hour training on the fundamentals of Life Story Work and how to use the Life Story Listening approach.
- Facilitators: Run by Laura Neal or Kim Matthews, Life Story Therapists and authors of the BJSW published What Is Life Story Work paper.
- Where: Held online on Microsoft Teams
- When: There are six dates available in January through to June 2025. When you sign up you have access to all dates so can attend the date that suits you. The course runs from 10 am to 2 pm.
- Who Is The Training For: Foster carers, special guardians, adoptive parents, practitioners and stakeholders who want to learn more about putting life story work into practice and specifically learn Life Story Listening skills.
- Why Attend: This course not only provides core life story listening skills it includes core information needed to progress to other approaches to Life Story Work, including how to know when each approach should be delivered.
- Can Questions Be Asked: Yes, this course is an interactive course where the trainers take time to integrate views, opinions, your real life examples and answer specific questions.
- Certificate: In Life Story Listening
What Does The Training Cover?
- Life Story Listening: Life story listening, what it is, the philosophy behind it and why it's needed as an approach.
- Ages & Stages: What children understand at different stages in their journey through care.
- Approaches: How to know which approach to life story work a young person needs.
- Listening Fundamentals: How life story listening can be used by foster carers, special guardians, adoptive parents and practitioners.
- Listening & Acknowledging: How to listen and acknowledge information and what to do when difficult topics come up.
- When You Don't Know: What to do when you don't have the answers to Life Story Information.
- Creating An Emotionally Supportive Space: Comfort, co-regulate and empathise through life story conversations, creating an accepting environment.
- Other Approaches: Knowing and evidencing when other, more intensive, forms of Life Story Work are needed.
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Workshop Dates
The Five Approaches To Life Story Work
November 19th
10 am - 11.30 am GMT
The Five Approaches To Life Story Work
November 26th
5 pm - 6.30 pm GMT
The Five Approaches To Life Story Work
December 5th
Midday - 1.30 pm GMT
By signing up you gain access to all dates and can attend the date that best suits you.