ABSTRACT
Many young people do not talk about how they are feeling on a regular basis. It is not something they are used to. They may have a limited emotional vocabulary; other than happy and sad, they may not be familiar with expressing other emotions or understand what they feel like. During the life story work sessions, it is likely that the young person will experience a number of emotions, some good, many uncomfortable. Some common emotions that might be experienced during life story work are sadness, anger, worry/fear, nervousness, confusion, rejection, resentment, jealousy, happiness, relief, a sense of calm, joy, peace. It should be made clear to the young person that it is OK for them to express how they are feeling in the sessions and that it is permissible. To help them to do this, one can collaboratively make a feelings chart that displays a range of emotions, and they can have this to hand in the sessions.
