words and pictures explanation example - edward - louise...
TRANSCRIPT
Words and Pictures Storyboard
Permission to reprint these pictures has been given by the mother. She thinks
everyone should see it.
Genogram
1992
Jack
20
1990
Sarah
21
2009
Edw ard
2
Mark
1957
Maggie
54
1983
Mary
29
1984
Bobbie
28
NotKnow n
PeterStep-
Grandfather
.
Edward went to hospital several 1mes.
The parents and Children’s Services did not know what was wrong.
The results of the skeletal survey meant Edward had to be placed in foster care.
The judge said that Edward was hurt by one of his parents, but it was not clear who.
Court proceedings relied on experts to try and understand what had happened.
The parents had contact at Smallwood Road.
Edward’s father stopped coming to contact.
A reunifica1on programme started with mum.
The day Edward went home for good.
Planning
• Aim to develop an illustrated narra<ve with all the adults involved in Edward’s life – his mother, maternal aunt and uncle, maternal grandmother and step grandfather
• His father declined to be involved • Aim to reduce mul<ple explana<ons from different family members as he gets older
• Family were given an overview regarding the process of construc<on using a case illustra<on
• The family agreed it would be a useful process and were commiHed to the work
• The storyboard would be captured in a book and Edward’s aunt was nominated illustrator using her skills in art (Edward was at this point 23 months old)
• Family were prepared that some aspects of the narra<ve work would be challenging – Edward's injuries and ensuring his father was captured in the narra<ve
Process • 8 family sessions took place and were facilitated by a social worker and educa<onal psychologist
• The number of sessions that took place were guided by comple<ng the work at the family’s pace
• Mother took lead in construc<ng the narra<ve and the key events
• Once the sequence was completed it was divided into sec<ons and sessions were planned around these sec<ons
• Aunt’s ar<s<c contribu<ons and prepara<ons for the book (photos, maps, illustra<ons etc) were very welcomed by Edward’s mother
• The maternal family believed Edward’s father had harmed him and discussions about his inclusion in the storyboard were challenging for them
• Edward's mother wanted the book to acknowledge that his parents met under good circumstances and they had loved each other
• The session focussing on Edward being admiHed to hospital was especially important and stressful for the family
• Everyone agreed it was important to reflect that Edward had been hurt and he went into foster care as it was not clear who had hurt him
• His mother wanted to be frank about this aspect of the narra<ve as she did not want to “pussyfoot” around the issue
• Several <mes she seemed to have physical reac<ons to talking about the injuries, hunching over in her chair and wan<ng to stop the experience, saying she would think of something to say at the <me
• She needed support to focus on the purpose of the sessions – to say the unsaid – so the family could collec<vely take ownership of the narra<ve
• Some sessions were taken over by other maHers – e.g. Edward's mother bera<ng her own mother that she didn’t know her own father, Edward’s aunt raising concerns about his mother being involved in a new rela<onship and compromising her capacity to hold Edward in mind
• The family appeared safe to have this re-‐enactment in the presence of the workers and it appeared enough trust had been developed for the family to feel at ease and be themselves in the space that had been created for them to use
• The family used the sessions to discuss issues that they find challenging to say to each other in other contexts, without fear of repercussions
• The family agreed they would make a collec<ve decision when Edward was older about when he should see his storyboard
• Some pages were leX for the family to add to and con<nue Edward’s story
Challenges • Workers need to be prepared to listen to uncomfortable stories and stay with them
• When you are coming to a difficult part of the narra<ve that the family find painful and may want to avoid you can’t duck this and need to face it head on
• How you keep a record of the storyboard -‐ Edward’s was a beau<ful bound book which his aunt had illustrated and decorated
• At the <me we didn’t feel brave enough to have a conversa<on about sharing the book as it felt so in<mate
Successes
• Allowed the family to develop a narra<ve about a difficult story and they came together and unified around the story and around Edward
• This increased safety for Edward • Edward’s mother didn’t have the language to describe what had happened to him and this has given her a tangible storyboard where she has the words/script and the pictures
• This was the first <me we had done this work and we felt proud
• When we later asked Edward's mother if we could copy the book for his records and share it as a learning tool she readily agreed