Older Norwegian adults with an intellectual disability are today more integrated into society than earlier generations. Some represent the last of the generation that experienced and can talk about childhoods in central institutions and about living under the World War II Nazi regime. The closure of Norwegian institutions, which took place in the1990s, was based on social valuation theories. The post-closure situation for people with intellectual disabilities, their staff and local authorities was very different form what they had experienced previously, local authorities being responsible for providing person-centred services. This thesis examines whether life story work represents an effective approach to the person-centred support of older adults with an intellectual disability, through examining the impact of this work on services users (‘storytellers’) and their life story work supporters (‘interlocutors’). ‘The life story model of identity’ developed primarily by the American psychologist and professor Dan P. McAdams, is a major contribution to the thinking of this study. The model emphasises the importance of service providers’ understanding and knowledge of their service users’ life stories. A combination of critical realism and interpretative phenomenology analysis is advanced as a suitable joint philosophical framework for investigating the impact life story work has on both storytellers with intellectual disabilities (aged 45+) and on the interlocutors they personally chose from their staff group. The Delphi technique was used in a preparatory phase of interviews of six experienced life story workers from three different countries. A Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach was used to prepare the intervention, to develop the LSW programme and for pre- and post-interviews. 38 participants from day centres and residential settings in Norway took part in the study. The results indicate that even staff who had known storytellers for a long time learned new and valuable information. They came into possession of a better understanding of the service users’ behaviour and the interlocutors’ attitudes to service users were changed by the experience of carry out life story work with them. The interlocutors stated that they considered life story work to be ‘important’ in today’s services. The storytellers experienced increased feelings of safety and greater awareness of their abilities, life span (roots) and of themselves as a person (identity and personal development). They expressed pride in their life story work and appreciated the time they had spent talking and working alone with their interlocutors. Storytellers and interlocutors both said that life story work had brought them closer together and the love and appreciation they had for each other was a clear result of the time they had spent together. The eight week programme was, however, also challenging for the interlocutors who had problems finding the opportunity to conduct two hours work a week without interruption from other contextual influences.

This study focuses on social workers‟ perceptions regarding life story work with children in child and youth care centres in South Africa. Life story work is an established form of intervention utilized by social workers with children in care mostly in the United Kingdom. Limited research has been conducted on the subject in South Africa. The research hoped to discover how social workers perceive life story work as a therapeutic intervention technique to be utilized with children in child and youth care centres. Qualitative descriptive design was conducted inductively, through semi-structured interviews and one focus group discussion. A total of six registered social workers at registered child and youth care centres in the Northern and Southern suburbs of Cape Town in the Western Province of South Africa were purposefully selected to participate in this study. All of the interviews and the focus group were audiorecorded. Recordings were transcribed by the researcher to ascertain certain emerging themes and categories. Thematic data analysis was utilized to transform the transcribed data into meaningful information. The principles and strategies for enhancing the trustworthiness of the data were done through crystallisation. The findings of the study revealed that social workers initially perceive life story work as time-consuming and are unaware of what the concept truly entails, but once examples were shown to the social workers, they recognised that they were using some of the activities already and perceived life story work as valuable, effective and essential in child and youth care centres. Life story work was perceived as useful for identity formation, a sense of belonging, relationship-building and family reunification services, for example. It was discovered that the social workers were utilising aspects of life story work, but that there is a shortage of social workers to act as facilitators to possibly complete life story work processes with each child in child and youth care centres. The recommendation was, therefore, made that childcare workers be trained in life story work in order for it to be implemented in child and youth care centres effectively. Further research studies were, therefore, recommended to ascertain how life story work could be practically implemented as a holistic programme with the children in child and youth care centres. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This study focuses on social workers‟ perceptions regarding life story work with children in child and youth care centres in South Africa. Life story work is an established form of intervention utilized by social workers with children in care mostly in the United Kingdom. Limited research has been conducted on the subject in South Africa. The research hoped to discover how social workers perceive life story work as a therapeutic intervention technique to be utilized with children in child and youth care centres. Qualitative descriptive design was conducted inductively, through semi-structured interviews and one focus group discussion. A total of six registered social workers at registered child and youth care centres in the Northern and Southern suburbs of Cape Town in the Western Province of South Africa were purposefully selected to participate in this study. All of the interviews and the focus group were audiorecorded. Recordings were transcribed by the researcher to ascertain certain emerging themes and categories. Thematic data analysis was utilized to transform the transcribed data into meaningful information. The principles and strategies for enhancing the trustworthiness of the data were done through crystallisation. The findings of the study revealed that social workers initially perceive life story work as time-consuming and are unaware of what the concept truly entails, but once examples were shown to the social workers, they recognised that they were using some of the activities already and perceived life story work as valuable, effective and essential in child and youth care centres. Life story work was perceived as useful for identity formation, a sense of belonging, relationship-building and family reunification services, for example. It was discovered that the social workers were utilising aspects of life story work, but that there is a shortage of social workers to act as facilitators to possibly complete life story work processes with each child in child and youth care centres. The recommendation was, therefore, made that childcare workers be trained in life story work in order for it to be implemented in child and youth care centres effectively. Further research studies were, therefore, recommended to ascertain how life story work could be practically implemented as a holistic programme with the children in child and youth care centres. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The thesis deals with understanding the interpretation of life story, important people and agency in life story of young adult being expose to an adverse effect of their family. The theoretical part is focused on life story and life story work, namely methods of create life story book. The thesis defined young adult in institutional and foster care, their needs and rights. The special chapter is life story work with traumatized children. The empirical part consist of analysis of four autobiographical narratives collected by the method of narrative interview, life story book and lifeline. The collected information are analysed with holistic-content, holistic-formal and categorical-formal analysis. This work includes feedback participants in research probe reconstruction of life story and life story work. At the conclusion of work are recommended other methods for further research.