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Creative Ways
We have learned that questioning as a method of information gathering has its limitations, particularly with certain kinds of people or issues. It is likely to be less effective with children, for example, who are not yet at the age and stage where verbal and written language are their primary means of communication. Instead, they are much more likely to use play and symbolic imagery to process and convey what they are thinking and feeling. The approach to assessment will need to take this into account, using play or arts-based activities as part of gathering information (Lefevre, 2008b).
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Creative Ways
Many adults, too, benefit equally from an approach which enables them to engage in more visual or creative ways. This can be helpful with people who:
- are feeling hostile about the process and don't respond to questions
- feel muddled or confused and are helped by seeing things mapped out
- struggle with recognising or describing their feelings and can benefit from creative ways of doing so
- have learning difficulties and need more visual and concrete methods of exploration
Click on each of the methods below to learn more about what they are and how to use them
Creative Ways
Ecomaps
Ecomaps are a simple and visual way of helping people convey their own view/subjective impression of their networks and supports. They can be constructed in a very basic way, just using paper and pens. Ask the adult or child to place themselves in a circle at the centre of the page. They can then use a variety of ways to convey the relationships between themselves and other people, groups or communities. Department of Health Guidance (2000: 30) suggests the following:
- Identify important people or organisations and draw circles as needed.
- Draw lines between circles where connections exist.
Use different types of lines to indicate the nature of the link or relationship:
____ = strong
– – – – = weak
• • • • • = stressful
On page 30 of The Assessing children in need and their families: Practice guidance is an example of an ecomap. Click here to access this document now. You can also encourage people to develop their own system. Distance from the centre might represent emotional distance. Colours could be chosen to convey positive or negative feelings. Pictures, images or photos could be used as symbols. Some people might prefer using 3D imagery instead of pens and paper, e.g. figures in a sandtray, or buttons of different size, shape and colour.
Do practise this method before using it with someone in your work. First construct your own ecomap so you gain a sense of its power. Then practise helping someone like a trusted friend or colleague to construct theirs before you use this with a service user or carer.
Creative Ways
Genograms
Genograms (sometimes called family trees) are an effective way of mapping out family structures over several generations. This is shown as a diagram using particular symbols, e.g. a circle to denote a female and a square to indicate a male. Lines may then be used to indicate formal relationships between people.
Clicking on the link here will take you to a Department of Health document which sets these symbols out on p. 29.
Genograms can be an effective way of engaging collaboratively and dynamically with service users and carers to share, describe and explore their family histories and relationships. People can be encouraged to share memories and anecdotes about relatives and think about patterns that emerge over generations (e.g. of divorce, suicide, miscarriage or abuse). Prompts and open/focused questions are particularly helpful, although some closed questions may be needed to check information out. These can be a powerful tool and workers must be sensitive in their use, providing sufficient time to round off the session and being available for further support or reflection where painful issues have been triggered.
We would strongly urge you practise this method before using it with someone in your work. First construct your own genogram from your family of origin so you gain a sense of its power. Secondly, map out on the genogram of a family known to you on your own. Finally, practise helping someone like a trusted friend or colleague to construct theirs before you use this with a service user or carer (Walton and Smith, 1999). For some useful guidance on genograms click here.
Creative Ways
The window
The window is a creative opportunity for people to consider their feelings about their past, present and future (Sunderland and Engleheart, 1992: 22). Encourage the person to look at their life through this window.
In one square they should draw or sketch 'the view' of their past. In another square, they can draw how things are for them in their life right now. In the third square they should sketch how they would want their future to look and, in the fourth, what they fear it may be like. If someone is very uncomfortable sketching they could find existing pictures to stick into each space, or even just write words in there.
This is quite a vivid way of enabling the person not only to show you how things are, their aspirations and fears, but it also enables them to really see and explore these for themselves. Such effective communication tools are thus an intervention even when the aim is information gathering.
As with the other creative tools, do practise their use first. Draw your own window using different styles to see what they can convey.
Creative Ways
Life paths
Life Paths (or Life Rivers) are a way of helping people map out the path they have taken in their lives and provide an overview.
This can be helpful in highlighting any recurring patterns. They can be quite a factual exercise, helping someone to complete a chronology of their life. But as with the genogram and ecomap they can also be used as a reflective tool and to help begin difficult conversations.
There are a range of ways to draw a life path. At their simplest level you can just draw a winding line on a page, write the person's date of birth at the beginning and their current age at the end. Then encourage them to start to indicate on the path the important things that have happened to them showing ages and perhaps noting down feelings and experiences.
With children or young people, or adults with learning difficulties you might encourage them to use symbols, drawings, colours or even cut-out pictures instead of words to convey events, relationships and feelings. You can also encourage the person to draw a graph, with different ages shown (Sunderland and Engleheart, 1993). Lines can be drawn to indicate how good or bad life was at different times; this is then the starting point for discussion about them. As with the other creative tools, do practise their use first. Draw your own life path using different styles to see what they can convey.
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