This month we are talking about Think, Feel, Do Bears - how they were developed and how they can be used during life story work.

Amy Payne and Karen Vance, two of the practitioners who created Think, Feel, Do Bears, join us from Australia. They take us back to 2016, when the first Think, Feel, Do bears were made, inspired by conversations at the 2016 Australian Childhood Trauma Conference.

Find out how the bears can help children and young people talk about their thoughts, feelings and actions. Hear about some real-life examples of them being used by children, young people and adults, and learn how the bears can help children and young people's voices be heard.

Sign up to Amy and Karen's upcoming Live Classroom by clicking here

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Sing Our Story is a personalised song-writing programme created by London-based charity, Groundswell Arts. Groundswell Arts and Blue Cabin are now collaborating to deliver Sing Our Story in North East England, with a focus on care-experienced babies and children.

Joseph Robb (head of service, looked-after children at Darlington Borough Council) explains why he wanted Darlington to be part of Sing Our Story and how the songs form part of children's records for them to revisit in years to come. And Lucy Ridley (Blue Cabin project manager) gives an insight into how the songs are written and the careful, creative process behind capturing each child's story.

Read more about Sing Our Story here>>

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Check out the other training we have coming up, with online Live Classrooms​,​ delivered by our brilliant ​expert trainers>>

Timelines are a powerful tool in life story work. They can bring play into the process; they can link past, present and future; and they can help prepare children for change. And they provide a safe way to explore a life story.

Listen to our conversation with Polly Baynes, who has worked with children and families for 37 years, for some brilliant advice on how to get started with using timelines. Polly shares her own experience of kinship care as a child and what she's learnt in her wide-ranging career. She ends with a series of top tips for foster carers and social work professionals who want to start using timelines with children and young people.

Sign up to Polly's online live classroom event by clicking here

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Michelle Ewing is a Therapeutic Life Story Worker with Leicestershire Children and Family Services, which recently received an Outstanding rating from Ofsted.

Michelle joins us to share how the local authority provides consistent and high quality life story work for care-experienced children and young people. She gives an insight into the role of a Therapeutic Life Story Worker, her training with Professor Richard Rose, and shares some of her go-to tools and techniques.

Finally, we talk about wellbeing for life story work practitioners: the importance of supervision and accessing support as part of your role.

Find out more about Creative Life Story Work membership here, and sign up to our mailing list here, for regular updates on our training and resources.

Check out the training we have coming up, with online Live Classrooms​,​ delivered by our brilliant ​expert trainers>>

Lessons from lived experience

Trainer Mary-anne Hodd joins us on the podcast to share her experience of being a child in care - including the challenges she faced and the people who made a positive difference.

The conversation touches on so many points, from how it feels to receive your files as an adult, to Mary-anne's advice for other care-experienced people.

Listen in to learn more about the challenges care-experienced children and young people face in forming their identities, how we can support them better, and how we can create environments where children can create, thrive and be themselves.

Find out more about Creative Life Story Work membership here, and sign up to our mailing list here, for regular updates on our training and resources.

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Social Work consultant and Trauma Informed Consultancy Services trainer, Natalie Wyatt, explains the wide-ranging effects of domestic abuse on children and young people, from developmental delays in infancy to risk-taking behaviors in adolescence.

We explore how trauma-informed approaches can help rebuild trust and attachment, and look ahead to potential changes in how we support children and young people.

Listen to the episode for practical guidance, insights into research, and examples of what Natalie has learnt from the children and young people she has worked with.

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This special podcast episode was recorded live at the Georgian Theatre in Stockton, where we gathered for the premiere of a wonderful new film called All About Adoption. The film was made by a group of young film makers from Tees Valley, through a new partnership between Blue Cabin and Adoption Tees Valley.

Hear from some of the film makers about what they wanted friends, teachers and social workers to know about adoption, and what it was like to receive a standing ovation after their first screening.

We ask audience members what they thought of the the film, and Blue Cabin Associate Artist, Nic Golightly, give an insight into the creative process.

Find out more about Adopt Bats at wearebluecabin.com/project/adopt-bats/

We welcome Mary-anne Hodd to the podcast to discuss adverse childhood experiences (also known as ACEs). Mary-anne explains how neglect, abuse and household dysfunction in early childhood can have an impact on later-life outcomes for care-experienced people -- and how we can support young people to start to heal.

Mary-anne is a care-experienced trainer and consultant with Trauma Informed Consultancy Services who combines her own lived experience with her background in psychology. Listen to this episode to hear how Mary-anne takes a strengths-based approach to ACEs.

Hear a new episode of the Creative Life Story Work podcast on the first Thursday of each month.

Find out more about Creative Life Story Work membership here, and sign up to our mailing list here, for regular updates on our training and resources.

Want to learn more from Mary-anne Hodd?

Check out the training we have coming up, with online Live Classrooms by Mary-anne and other brilliant trainers>>