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In a previous episode of the Creative Life Story Work podcast, Professor Richard Rose (founder of Therapeutic Life Story Work International) talked about trauma: its impact on children and young people, and how we can support them to move forward. (Listen to our interview with Richard Rose here). Here, we’ve shared some of Richard’s key insights from the episode.
If you’d like to learn more about trauma and recovery, Richard Rose is delivering two online Live Classrooms, which are open for booking now. Book for his Live Classroom on trauma here, and for his Live Classroom on recovery here.
There are many definitions of trauma, and of course trauma is very unique to each of us. Not one of us will experience trauma in the same way.
The definition I tend to use is this: trauma is the unresolved residuals of past events that we have not made our peace with.
People sometimes ask, ‘Is trauma the event, or is it what’s left behind?’ For me, it’s what remains. We don’t forget what happened to us, and we don’t ‘get over it’, but we can learn to live alongside it. We can make sense of it. We can understand that we can’t change it, but it doesn’t have to define us.
I think it’s a failure of our system if a child can go through care, into leaving care, without having been able to make sense of all that’s happened in their journey.
I don’t think there’s any excuse for us not to have those opportunities to help children to talk about their trauma, their attachment, to talk about their hurts, their sadnesses. But also for us to assure children that they are wonderful, lovable, worthwhile, that they have a space and a place, and that there are people that care for them.
If you ask me what makes the biggest difference for a child who has experienced trauma, I’ll start with something very simple: consistency, predictability, repetition.
Imagine being a 12-year-old in foster care. You begin to see that food happens at the same time, bedtime happens at the same time, school happens at the same time. You can then start to take risks, because you know, ‘At least I’m going to be fed, at least I’m going to be safe’.
It’s those little things that are very important.
There are some very practical things I always recommend.
For me, trauma isn’t something we erase. It’s something we come to understand.
If we can give children the space, safety, and support to make sense of what’s happened to them, then trauma no longer has to define their future. Instead, it becomes something they can live alongside, and move beyond.
Live Classroom: trauma
Monday 22 June 2026, 10am – 1pm
Develop an understanding of the impact of trauma on children, young people and adults, in an online Live Classroom with Professor Richard Rose. Find out more and book>>
Live Classroom: recovery
Monday 13 July, 10am – 1pm
Find out how children and young people can be helped to recover from early life challenges, with Professor Richard Rose. Find out more and book>>
Membership is available for both individuals and for organisations, and gives you access to 12 Live Classrooms per year, plus all of our online resources.
Richard is the Director of Therapeutic Life Story Work International. He provides consultancy and training on Therapeutic Life Story Work and develops academic training programmes in the UK and internationally. Richard is a regular visitor to Australia where he is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Social Work and Social Policy at La Trobe University, Melbourne, and Honorary Associate of Berry Street, Melbourne. He is also an Honorary Associate of the Open Adoption Institute, University of Sydney. In the USA, he presents for Portland State University, DHS Oregon and ORPARC (Adoption Services). Richard is the author of The Child’s Own Story – Life Story Work with Traumatised Children (2004); Life Story Therapy with Traumatised Children – A Model for Practice (2012) and Innovative Therapeutic Life Story Work (2017).
