Life Review Therapy: Looking Back to Move Forward

As we age, our stories matter more than ever. Life Review Therapy is a gentle, structured way of exploring those stories, the moments that shaped you, challenged you, delighted you, and making sense of them in the present. It’s not “therapy” in the traditional sense. It’s guided remembering, meaning-making, and reclaiming the parts of yourself that may have felt lost along the way.

What Life Review Helps With

Life Review Therapy has a strong evidence base for supporting older adults, especially those experiencing:

  • Depression or low mood, including in the context of cognitive impairment

  • Anxiety, particularly when life feels uncertain or overwhelming

  • Identity loss, after retirement, bereavement, or major life changes

  • Loneliness or disconnection

  • Loss of confidence or purpose

  • Adjustment to physical illness, frailty, or care-home living

Research consistently shows that structured life review can reduce depressive symptoms, lower anxiety, improve wellbeing, and increase a sense of meaning and continuity. Meta-analyses of life-review and reminiscence programs report significant improvements in mood and quality of life across both individual and group formats.

How It Works

Life Review Therapy is time-limited and usually takes place over 6–8 sessions. Each session focuses on a different chapter of your life, childhood, work, relationships, pivotal events, challenges, achievements, and hopes for the future.

Together, we explore:

  • Key memories, both joyful and difficult

  • How past experiences shaped your values and strengths

  • What still feels unfinished or unresolved

  • What gives you meaning now

  • How to carry forward what’s been important

For people with memory difficulties, sessions are adapted using prompts, objects, photos, and simple guided questions. 

Why It Works

Humans are storytelling creatures. When life becomes complicated by illness, grief, cognitive changes, or the big transitions of later life our stories can feel scattered. Life review helps put the pieces back together. 

Research has shown it can:

  • Strengthen identity and confidence

  • Reduce psychological distress

  • Improve memory, mood, and conversation

  • Ease unresolved pain from the past

  • Facilitate relationship repair

  • Support forgiveness, acceptance, and emotional peace

Many people also choose to create a Life Story Book at the end: a tangible record of their memories and identity that can be shared with loved ones or care staff.

Who It’s For

Life Review Therapy is suitable for:

  • Older adults at home or in care settings

  • People with mild to moderate cognitive impairment

  • Families wanting to reconnect or mend old wounds

  • Anyone feeling they’ve ‘lost  themselves” due to life changes or illness

Life review is gentle, respectful, and deeply person-centred. For many, it brings relief, pride, laughter, understanding — and sometimes a sense of closure that’s been missing for years.