Storytelling framework for social care in Wales

Decorative image shows people chatting around a campfire

“We are all storytellers. We all live in a network of stories. There isn’t a stronger connection between people than storytelling.” - Jimmy Neil Smith, Director of the International Storytelling Center

Framework content

The benefits of storytelling

The ethical foundation of storytelling

Storytelling in practice:

Decorative: shows a graphic of a house with foundations a roof and three pillars (that look like three people)

The framework can be imagined as a house with a foundation of ethical practice, three pillars of storytelling practice and a roof representing the overarching benefits of storytelling

How can storytelling help me in my life and work?

Storytelling is the way that humans make sense of the world and connect with one another.

It can be used in many ways in social care and health, for example:

to build relationships and understanding through co-production
to help people engage with, and learn from evidence
to support an individual or team through challenges
to help us find out what's really going on (this can apply to people and organisations)
to demonstrate the impact of work
to celebrate practice and attract and recruit the right people, as well as keep them.

Decorative image shows an empty bed in an outdoor setting under an open blue sky with some clouds and a rainbow

"We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories." - Jonathan Gotschall, The storytelling animal (2013)

Additional reading

Our contributors and experts in the field have shared their essential reading with us. On this page, we've included a general reading list. Additional reading is also included on other pages in the framework, when it's relevant. Please note, you'll find the references cited in the text in 'References' which you can click to expand.

Bamberg, M. and Georgapoulou, A. (2008) ‘Small stories as a new perspective in narrative and identity analysis’ Text & Talk - An Interdisciplinary Journal of Language, Discourse Communication Studies, 28 (3), pp. 377–396, available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/250975699_Small_Stories_as_a_New_Perspective_in_Narrative_and_Identity_Analysis (accessed: 4 April 2025).

De Fina A. and Georgakopoulou, A. (eds.) (2019) The Handbook of Narrative Analysis, Chichester, Wiley Blackwell.

Gersie, A. (1991) Earthtales: Storymaking in times of change, Portland, Greenprint.

Hydén, L. C. and Antelius, E. (2011) Communicative disability and stories: towards an embodied conception of narratives, Health London, 15 (6), pp. 588-603, doi: 10.1177/1363459310364158.

Milford, A. (2021) Using storytelling to talk about health and self care, Practical Pre-School Books.

Ochs, E. and Capps, L. (2001) Living narrative: creating lives in everyday storytelling, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press.

Reese, E. (2013) Tell me a story: Sharing stories to enrich your child’s world, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Thompson, T.L. and Harrington, N.G. (2021) The Routledge Handbook of Health Communication (third edition), Oxford, Routledge, doi.org/10.4324/9781003043379.

Underwood-Lee, E. and Thimbleby, P. (2019) 'Storytelling for Health', Storytelling, Self, Society, 15 (1), pp. 1-12.

Underwood-Lee, E., Hudson, J. and Williams, A. (2025) 'Storytelling and Aging', Storytelling, Self, Society, 19 (1), pp. 1-8.

References - click to expand

Gotschall, J. (2013) The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human, New York, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Pascoe, K., Waterhouse-Bradley, B. and McGinn, T. (2023) Social Workers’ Experiences of Bureaucracy: A Systematic Synthesis of Qualitative Studies, The British Journal of Social Work, 53, (1), pp. 513–533.