ABSTRACT
A useful starting point for sessions where one will chart a family tree with the young person is to spend a session with them looking at their birth certificate. Young people seem to grasp its significance, that it is an official document that shows they were born and that they have an official identity. The emotional demand can be quite high. The emotional demand can be quite high. The young person may or may not be aware of who is identified on their birth certificate as their mother and father. In the United Kingdom, there are two types of birth certificate. A full certificate entitled ‘Certified Copy of an Entry’ is a copy of the original entry in the birth register. The short version of the birth certificate, which is entitled ‘Certificate of Birth’, shows the young person’s full name, sex, date of birth and place of birth.
