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This paper describes the involvement of peer trainers in Tree of Life groups for young people living with Type 1 Diabetes. The approach is informed by narrative therapy and collective narrative practice and principles, where people are seen as separate from problems and the focus is on creating opportunities for people to tell and witness one another’s preferred identity stories. Young people who have participated in a Tree of Life day are invited to join the project as peer trainers who help facilitate, engage group participants, witness their stories and consult to the project. Involving peer trainers also aims to create a community where preferred identity stories can be lived and witnessed. This paper describes the training for peer trainers and the building of community.

This article describes the ‘Beads of Life’ approach – a five-part methodology informed by narrative therapy to enable children and young people to make sense of their cancer journey in ways that make them stronger. Young people are invited to use beads as prompts to tell preferred stories of their identity to create a safe place to stand from which to story their cancer journey. The approach positions young people as experts in their lives. It aims to change their relationship with cancer to reduce its negative impact on life by lessening isolation. By enabling medical staff to get to know the young person apart from the cancer, this approach aims to create hope for the future and improve quality of care.

Clients and professionals bring to their relationship with each other beliefs about the helping process which can significantly influence the outcome of referral and treatment. This article describes the development of the authors' ideas about this relationship to help and some of the beliefs that contribute to it. In clinical practice, issues around the relationship to help may need to be addressed at the referral, engagement or therapy phases.

This article weaves research findings and clinical practice to address five ethical dilemmas: How to include children in sessions so that they feel listened to, appreciated and not judged; how to attend to children's feelings without making the focus solely their troubles; how to create a context in which children can express themselves when they cannot find the words; how to ensure a suitable time, place and relationship for talking; and how to create a safe context for respectful co-ordination between the different views of children and adults. A practical example including transcripts from sessions is presented. The authors show how a toy bear joining two therapists in a reflecting team can create opportunities for a 10-year-old girl and her parents to voice their different views and hear the different perspectives of each other. The parents, who generously agreed to share details of their family sessions, offered useful feedback on this write-up, suggesting that this article may be useful for staff and parents who join therapists in a playful approach to reflecting teams with children.