• The foundation of LIFE is based on building rapport with young people in order to generate trust, so they feel comfortable; often undertaken in bite size chunks requiring considerable patience. Many of the issues a young person faces are complex requiring a need to overcome their impact, so they can attain a sense of ontological security. From this basis a young person can engage in eventually building a secure base.

 

•  Often it entails simultaneously engaging in recovery from the impact of trauma. To overcome this requires a long-term commitment from the staff team in order to enhance the emotional literacy of the young person. 

 

• As the young person works through the Eriksonian life stages they also need to be scaffolded requiring someone to provide the support. This is a long-term project.

 

•  On this basis LIFE understands that recovery is an ongoing development requiring reflection, insight, and expertise. The key focus is on generating hope and then building on the young person’s strengths to engage in emotional recovery.