Lifeline and Timelines

Lifelines in Social Care

In this activity the person use the idea of a 'line'to map out their life.

Objectives of Creating a Creative Visual Lifeline in Irish Social Care

Enhancing Self-Reflection and Personal Awareness
- Encourage individuals to explore and visualize key life events, transitions, and experiences in a structured, creative way.
- Link to CORU Domain 1: Professional Autonomy and Accountability by fostering self-awareness and reflective practice essential for ethical decision-making and professional conduct in social care.
Facilitating Therapeutic Expression and Emotional Processing
- Support individuals in processing personal challenges, resilience, and growth through visual storytelling.
- Connect with CORU Domain 2: Communication, Collaborative Practice, and Teamworking by promoting self-expression as a foundation for therapeutic dialogue and engagement in care settings.
Developing a Narrative-Based Approach to Social Care Practice
- Utilize creative lifelines as tools to help service users articulate their experiences and needs in a non-verbal, accessible format.
- Align with CORU Domain 5: Professional Knowledge and Skills, particularly in using innovative and evidence-informed methods in practice.
Strengthening Empathy and Trauma-Informed Care Practices
- Use visual lifelines to deepen understanding of service users' lived experiences, enhancing empathetic engagement and trauma-sensitive responses.
- Link to CORU Domain 6: Professional Relationships and Leadership by fostering person-centred care, advocacy, and trust-building.
Encouraging Goal-Setting and Future Planning
- Support individuals in identifying patterns, aspirations, and future goals through visual mapping of past experiences and milestones.
- Relate to CORU Domain 4: Safety and Quality by incorporating strengths-based, outcome-focused planning to support well-being and personal development.

The 'line' can be a road, stairs, a spiral, etc. The line can be constructed with objects or by laying out the paper in a line. Ideas such as clocks or the seasons (the autumn/winter of ones life) also work well.

The purpose of the lifeline is to look back at one's life using the idea of a timeline; The beginning of the lifeline is birth, moving through all important or remembered events of one's life. Also the life line done in visual form provides a concrete form to which one can refer at a later point. The visual form also provides an accessible and communicative device when words or other expressions fail.
The lifeline can also be used to map out what ones would live from the future; goals, wishes, needs etc.

Visual Metaphors such as a clothesline provide an excellent opportunity to explore and extend meaning; for example the birth or beginning could be represented by a babygro and the events such as Communion by a white dress. An actual clothesline could also be used. Other metaphors could be a journey, the life cycle of an identified animal, and the cycle of the daytime; morning through to night-time.

This activity is especially helpful for anyone who needs to get a sense of who they are, what experiences they have had, and where they might be going in the future. Further discussion in an appropriate space can help to understand perceptions, deepen understanding, assess the meaning, and identity areas for change.

Using visual metaphors in artwork operate at a few different levels. On a basic level, the visual metaphors used in artwork can provide a visual representation of an abstract concept, like love or happiness, that can be easily understood by the viewer. On a deeper level, visual metaphors can be used to communicate complex ideas and emotions in a way that is more accessible and relatable. For example, an artist might use a visual metaphor of a rising sun to represent optimism and hope, or a visual metaphor of a stormy sky to represent turmoil or fear. Visual metaphors can also be used to create a narrative, like a story, within a single piece of artwork. This can create a unique, personal experience for the viewer, and can be used to explore complex topics in a creative and engaging way.

Themes can include:

Time - clocks, egg timers
Growth - Plants, trees, roots (family related), seeds being blown away in the wind (past events gone)
Travel - Paths, rivers, roads, turning points, crossroads, signposts, a train moving on tracks (with carriages being added all the time - extra baggage)
Puzzles - jig-saw (pieces coming together or falling apart)
Games - snakes and ladders (up and downs, life as a challenge),
Chains - Events linked together and overlapping
Books - life as chapters, turning over a new leaf/page
Seasons - life as a natural cycle of time
Steps - stepping stones in a river (a challenge), upwards or downwards
Stairs - climbing up - progression
Building - foundations, with the blocks of things learned or experienced on top
Biology - the heart and the heartbeat (up and down), the pulse line.
Countryside - hills, and mountains to climb
Balloons going up- life stages, 'letting go'

Personal Development: To explore ones life in order to get a sense of what events have taken place, to 'see' the events in a visual format, to plan or address possible future events, imagine and possibly plan future events.

Therapeutic setting: To focus and address issues by giving an overview of events in ones life, to offer clarity on past events so as to move forward, and to give life events meaning in the context of the present, provide a visual format for commuication of one own view on heir life.

Therapy setting (with a therapist): To give a visual format to past life events, to help focus in on events that have particular relevance or meaning in the context of present day difficulties, to address unconscious magnifications present within the presentation of events; forgotten events or 'remembered' events, examine perceptions of events perhaps over time, to address patterns of events and linked events that may offer deep insight leading to change and relief of distress and difficulties.

Case Study: Using a Creative Visual Lifeline in Social Care

Background

Lisa (35) is a woman who has been accessing social care services for the past five years due to a history of homelessness, childhood trauma, and mental health challenges. She currently resides in supported accommodation and is working towards independent living. Lisa has struggled with verbal expression, often finding it difficult to articulate her emotions and life experiences in traditional talk-based therapy settings.

Engagement with Social Care Worker

Lisa’s social care worker, Anna, introduced her to the concept of a creative visual lifeline as a way to explore and map out significant moments in her life, both positive and challenging. The goal was to provide Lisa with a structured yet flexible way to reflect on her journey, recognize her strengths, and set future goals in a manner that felt accessible and non-threatening.

Creating the Visual Lifeline

Together, they developed a timeline-based collage using various artistic materials such as drawings, photographs, magazine cutouts, and symbols that represented key milestones. Lisa was encouraged to use colors and textures that conveyed her emotions at different points in her life.

Early Life (0-12 years)
- Lisa used dark tones and fragmented images to represent the instability of her childhood. She included a broken house to symbolize family conflict and neglect.
- Despite these struggles, she added a small sun in the corner, explaining that her grandmother was a source of comfort during difficult times.
Adolescence (13-18 years)
- Lisa placed jagged lines and chaotic imagery, reflecting her teenage years, which included dropping out of school and early experiences of homelessness.
- However, she also included a pair of ballet shoes, symbolizing a short-lived but cherished period when she attended dance classes.
Early Adulthood (19-30 years)
- A grey background with scattered images represented her struggles with addiction and unstable relationships.
- In one section, Lisa placed a small, locked door, explaining that it symbolized times when she felt there was no way forward.
Present and Future (31-Present and Beyond)
- Lisa used brighter colors, particularly green, which she associated with growth and hope.
- She included images of a book (symbolizing her goal of returning to education), a house (representing her desire for independent living), and a tree with deep roots (signifying her growing resilience and support network).

Therapeutic and Social Care Impact

The process helped Lisa externalize her experiences in a tangible way, making it easier for her to discuss and process past events with Anna.
The non-verbal nature of the visual lifeline reduced Lisa’s anxiety around verbal expression and gave her a sense of control over her narrative.
Anna used the lifeline as a tool for identifying strengths in Lisa’s journey, reinforcing moments of resilience and survival.
Together, they set achievable goals, with Lisa identifying education and stable housing as key aspirations.

Connection to CORU Proficiencies

Domain 1: Professional Autonomy and Accountability – Anna ensured the approach was person-centred, allowing Lisa to take ownership of her story in a safe and ethical manner.
Domain 2: Communication, Collaborative Practice, and Teamworking – The use of creative expression fostered a deeper therapeutic relationship, improving trust and engagement.
Domain 5: Professional Knowledge and Skills – Anna adapted a trauma-informed and strengths-based approach, demonstrating innovative practice in social care.
Domain 6: Professional Relationships and Leadership – By co-creating the lifeline, Anna empowered Lisa to reframe her story in a way that emphasized personal agency and future possibilities.

Conclusion

Lisa’s experience with the visual storytelling format proved to be a transformative tool in her social care journey. It not only provided a means of self-expression but also facilitated goal-setting and healing in a way that aligned with her needs and abilities. Moving forward, Lisa and Anna planned to revisit the lifeline periodically, allowing Lisa to update it as she continued her path towards independence and personal growth.