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