Therapeutic Life Story Work Australia (TLSWa)

What Therapeutic Life Story Work Australia (TLSWa) does

Therapeutic Life Story Work Australia (TLSWa) is the Australian national body of Therapeutic Life Story Work International (TLSWi Ltd.), a UK-incorporated, founder-owned professional membership organization established by Richard Rose. The organization certifies and trains practitioners in the Rose Model, a structured, child-centered therapeutic methodology designed to help adopted, fostered, and kinship-care children explore their life histories and build a personalized Life Story Book through an 18-session process involving the child, their carer, and the practitioner. Revenue is generated through multi-year Professional Diploma and Certificate programs (delivered via the THEiA Academy of Learning), annual membership subscriptions that gate access to resources and the practitioner directory, fee-based alumni workshops and continuing professional development, and the Karmy Cards practice tool. TLSWa extends TLSWi's footprint into Australia through a channel partnership with Berry Street, running quarterly training cohorts, and is supported globally by academic validation from Deakin University and an international certified-practitioner directory spanning the UK, Australia, Ireland, and the USA. The operating model is asset-light and bootstrapped, with a six-person core team, growing published IP (including the 2024 Rose Model Handbook and a 2025 Communication Tools book), and a registered US trademark for the TLSWi Certified Practitioner designation.

Name

Therapeutic Life Story Work Australia (TLSWa)

Legal name

TLSWi Ltd.

Website

https://tlswi.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Therapeutic Life Story Work Australia is the Australian arm of TLSWi Ltd., certifying and training practitioners in the proprietary Rose Model therapeutic methodology for adopted and fostered children. It generates revenue through professional diplomas, membership subscriptions, and alumni workshops delivered via THEiA Academy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Training and Certification in Therapeutic Life Story Work

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

MHPSS & Trauma-Informed Support for Displaced Populations (BPADAHAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Family & Community Support Services (Case Management, Referrals) (EDAJAIAK)

Keywords

• Therapeutic life story work
• Child welfare training
• Trauma-informed practice
• Practitioner certification
• Professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Telford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Training Courses: Revenue from Professional Diploma and Certificate programs in Therapeutic Life Story Work. Courses are delivered through THEiA Academy and in Australia through Berry Street partnership. Fees charged for multi-day intensive training programs.
2. Membership Fees: Annual membership required for practitioners to access resources, research publications, PowerPoints, templates, discussion forums, and the practitioner directory listing.
3. Alumni Workshop Fees: Continuing professional development workshops for alumni including Creating Therapeutic Stories, Writing Up TLSW Books, and supervision courses. Fee-based short courses and workshops.
4. Practitioner Directory: Certified practitioners listed in the directory can be found by customers seeking TLSW services. The directory serves as a marketplace connecting qualified practitioners with families and agencies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Therapeutic Life Story Work Australia (TLSWa) is the Australian national body of TLSWi Ltd., providing professional training, certification, and membership programs in the proprietary Rose Model of Therapeutic Life Story Work. The organization certifies practitioners (social workers, therapists, foster carers, and child welfare professionals) through Professional Diplomas, Australian Professional Certificates, and the THEiA Academy of Learning, and connects families and agencies with certified practitioners through an online directory. The methodology is a structured, trauma-informed, child-centred approach delivered over 18 sessions culminating in a child-owned Life Story Book.

Product overview

Therapeutic Life Story Work International (TLSWi) operates a platform-based ecosystem centered on the Rose Model of Therapeutic Life Story Work. The core offering consists of practitioner training programs (Professional Diploma and Australian Professional Certificate), a searchable practitioner directory, and THEiA Academy providing structured learning. The portfolio includes professional development through Alumni Workshops, a peer forum for knowledge sharing, specialized resources for refugee children, and creative programs like the Blue Cabin partnership. Supporting products include publications, practice tools (Karmy Cards), and membership services connecting trained practitioners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ carers trained in Care Excellence Programme
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Deakin UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Deakin University conducted research validating the Rose Model in Therapeutic Life Story Work. The research paper evidences that the Rose Model supports TLSW practice and purpose, with conclusions on the advantages and effectiveness of the approach and long-term impact on children and young people. This partnership provides academic credibility and evidence base for the methodology.
• Berry StreetcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBerry Street, a leading Australian child welfare organization, partners with TLSWi to deliver the Professional Diploma in Therapeutic Life Story Work in Australia. Berry Street hosts training intakes (July and September 2026) and manages course applications for the Australian market. This partnership enables TLSWa to operate as the Australian arm of TLSWi's global certification programme.
• Blue CabincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlue Cabin partnered with Professor Richard Rose (TLSWi) and South Tyneside Council to develop Creative Life Story Work, combining professional artists with therapeutic life story work. Blue Cabin received What Works for Children's Social Care funding to roll out the project across Darlington, Gateshead, and South Tyneside. TLSWi provides the therapeutic methodology while Blue Cabin provides creative facilitation.
• Children and Families Across BordersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTLSWi partnered with Children and Families Across Borders and Blue Cabin to create resources supporting life story work with refugee and asylum-seeking children and young people. This partnership extends the TLSW methodology to an underserved population with specific needs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• TACT (The Adolescent and Children's Trust): UK fostering and adoption charity providing therapeutic support, training, and supervision to foster carers and social workers across multiple local authorities. Comparable as a scaling children's services provider whose foster carer training, supervision, and adoption support ecosystem overlaps directly with TLSWi's core practitioner/customer base.
• Action for Children: Large UK children's services charity operating fostering, adoption, residential and mental health services and delivering extensive practitioner training. Comparable because it trains and deploys practitioners in therapeutic and life story interventions for looked-after and adopted children at materially larger scale.
• Barnardo's: UK's largest children's charity, providing fostering, adoption, mental health, and child sexual exploitation services alongside substantial training programmes for the social care workforce. Comparable as a broad incumbent commissioning and delivering therapeutic services for looked-after and adopted children, including life story work practice.
• Adoption UK: UK-wide charity supporting adopted children, adoptive families, and the professionals that work with them. Comparable because it sits in the same adopted-children ecosystem TLSWi trains practitioners for, runs CPD/training programmes for adoption-permanence workers, and connects families to post-adoption support services.
• Coram: Long-established UK children's charity group (including CoramBAAF and Coram Life Education) providing adoption services, training for social workers, and resources on life story work and permanence. Comparable as a broader incumbent in the same children's services and adoption training adjacency, with overlapping practitioner education content.

Direct peers

• Research in Practice: UK-based social work practice and learning organisation that delivers evidence-based training, CPD, and resources to children's services practitioners and local authorities. Comparable because it monetises structured professional development and evidence translation for the same social worker/therapist audience that TLSWi serves via THEiA Academy and supervision.
• Blue Cabin: UK arts charity that co-developed the Creative Life Story Work project with Professor Richard Rose (TLSWi) and three local authorities via WWCSC funding. Comparable as a co-development partner piloting the Rose Model in council settings and an adjacent creator of life story practice resources for care-experienced children.
• Berry Street: Leading Australian child welfare organisation that runs Take Two therapeutic services and is TLSWi's Australian channel partner delivering the Professional Diploma and Australian Professional Certificate in TLSW. Comparable because it both delivers and commissions therapeutic interventions for looked-after children and trains practitioners in evidence-based models across Australia.
• Family Futures: UK therapeutic practice specialising in work with adopted and fostered children, including life story/DWP work. Directly comparable to TLSW because they operate in the same therapeutic life story niche serving similar looked-after and adopted populations and train/certify practitioners in specialist interventions.
• National Children's Bureau: UK charity that develops policy, research, and training programmes on children's wellbeing, mental health, and safeguarding for practitioners and local systems. Comparable as a long-established training-and-membership body operating in child welfare and SEL adjacent spaces, with comparable CPD and certification offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TLSWuk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/therapeutic-lifestory-work-australia-tlswa
• Instagraminstagram.com/tlswuk

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Therapeutic Life Story Work Australia (TLSWa)