LSW Forum

About Us
The Life Story Work Forum is an independent meeting for anyone interested in life story work. The Life Story Work Forum has been running for about 20 years. It was set up by a group of people who have been involved in the development and delivery of Life Story Work. Our focus is on supporting and promoting the development of this important area of work and recognising the therapeutic value of everyday interactions in life story work.
We aim to provide a platform for those with an interest in Life Story Work to share practice, resources, skills, experience and knowledge. This includes adoptive and foster parents, social workers, therapists, people who have been cared for outside their immediate birth family and birth family members. We recognise that all the people around a child have an important part to play in the process of life story work and value the multi-dimensional perspectives that this group brings.
While Therapeutic Life Story Work is a specific, time-limited and focussed intervention, life story work in its broadest terms is a process that we all engage in throughout our lives. It is fluid and unique to each individual. The process is an important part of our identity and our relationship and connection to the world and others.
Life Story Work has become a recognised intervention aimed at helping a person, often a looked after or adopted child, through exploring, questioning and understanding the past events of their lives. For any individual it is important to gain a sense of where we came from, who brought us into the world and where we belong.

“There are things in life that we cannot change; our heritage, history and life experiences.
What we can change is our understanding and perceptions of these things. It is a continuing process which changes as we grow and develop. The ‘change’ is about resolution and moving to a more positive view of self.”
B.Betts & A.Ahmad, 2002

“It is difficult to grow up as a psychologically healthy adult if one is denied access to one’s own history.”
Fahlberg, 1991

Many agencies and practitioners have developed their own approaches to meet the needs of these children and young people, ranging from providing Life Story Books and completing direct work to providing Therapeutic Life Story Work or other therapeutic interventions.
The Life Story Work Forum is about celebrating all that is Life Story Work. We recognise that there is no one approach to Life Story Work and value the connections we have with our colleagues. Our aim is to provide a space for Life Story Work Practice. This will provide not only relevant information and resources, but also help make connections between those involved with this invaluable work. We would also like to champion Life Story Work and inform future development. We recognise that every aspect of Life Story Work is as unique as the individual person.
The Life Story Work Forum aims to meet quarterly and is open to anyone with an interest in their own life story work journey or in supporting others.
The meetings are currently virtual /online.
Date for next LSW Forum: TBC
If you are interested in learning more or signing up to the Forum mailing list, please email:
[email protected]

“Who we are and what we do are influenced by the stories that we tell about ourselves. While we
can’t always change the stories that others have about us, we can influence the stories about
ourselves and those we care about. And we can, with care, rework or rewrite storylines of identity.”
David Denborough 2014