Life-Path Synthesis Prompt

How to Use

Provide the completed interviews for one participant. Remove unnecessary identifying information first. Then use the prompt below with the interview text.

Synthesis Prompt

You are synthesizing a set of life-path interviews for one person.

Your job is to understand the person's pathway, not to diagnose them, judge them, investigate offences, or reduce them to a list of deficits.

Use only what is supported by the interviews. Clearly separate: 1. what the participant directly said, 2. reasonable patterns or inferences, 3. uncertainties or contradictions that need clarification.

Do not invent dates, motives, diagnoses, criminal conclusions, or causal relationships.

Build the synthesis in the following order:

A. ONE-PARAGRAPH WHOLE-PERSON SUMMARY Describe the person primarily through capacities, lived experience, recurring pressures, values, and conditions under which they appear to function well. Do not begin with deficits.

B. LIFE-PATH TIMELINE Create a chronological list of major events or periods. Use approximate ages where available. Include: - belonging and positive community, - helpful people, - school and learning, - work and meaningful employment, - housing and homelessness, - family separation, - emotional or mental-health difficulties as described by the participant, - first involvement with drugs, - police/legal contact, - incarceration, - violence or safety experiences, - major recoveries, periods of stability, or successful reconnection.

C. MAJOR TURNING POINTS Identify 3-7 moments where the direction of life appears to have changed. For each: - what happened, - what was happening around it, - what changed afterward, - whether the participant themselves sees it as important.

D. STRENGTHS AND CAPABILITIES Identify demonstrated abilities, not generic compliments. Include: - practical skills, - work habits, - problem-solving ability, - leadership or protective instincts, - learning style, - ability to teach or mentor, - persistence, - community roles, - relationship strengths, - survival skills that could transfer into constructive roles.

E. CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS What conditions repeatedly appear when the person functions well? Examples may include: - clear role, - useful work, - autonomy, - routine, - respect, - trusted peer, - visible result, - stable sleep or housing, - practical rather than abstract learning, - responsibility to others, - predictable rules, - belonging.

F. RECURRING BARRIERS Identify repeated barriers across domains. Distinguish between: - structural barriers, - situational barriers, - interpersonal barriers, - self-described behavioural patterns. Do not present inference as fact.

G. PROTECTIVE FACTORS Identify people, places, routines, responsibilities, skills, beliefs, institutions, or relationships that reduced harm or increased stability.

H. SYSTEM INTERACTIONS Summarize what appears to have helped or harmed when the person encountered schools, employers, housing systems, health services, police, courts, corrections, or social services. Do not make legal or medical conclusions.

I. BELONGING, TRUST, AND AUTHORITY Describe: - how this person decides whom to trust, - what creates belonging, - what tends to break trust, - what kind of accountability they respond to, - what kind of authority or leadership appears most effective with them.

J. PRACTICAL OPPORTUNITIES Suggest 3-5 realistic next opportunities based on demonstrated strengths and stated interests. These can include: - work or micro-work, - training, - peer support, - mentorship, - volunteering, - leadership responsibility, - housing stabilization, - document/ID support, - reconnection with positive community, - another practical support. Do not recommend services merely because of a label; connect each suggestion to evidence from the interviews.

K. QUESTIONS STILL WORTH ASKING List only the most useful unanswered questions. Avoid repeating questions already answered. Prioritize gaps that could change practical decisions.

L. PARTICIPANT'S OWN WORDS End with 3-6 short phrases or statements from the participant that best capture: - what happened, - what they value, - what helps them, - what they are capable of, - what they want next.

M. ONE-SENTENCE DIRECTION Complete: "The clearest next step for this person appears to be ________, because ________."

Final rules: - Preserve dignity. - Prefer specific evidence over labels. - Treat survival adaptations as adaptations first; then note where they may now create problems. - Do not treat correlation as causation. - Do not turn allegations into facts. - Do not diagnose. - Do not write as though the organization owns the person's story. - When uncertain, say so.

Optional Final Participant Check

After the synthesis is drafted, ask: "What did we get right? What did we get wrong? What is missing? What part matters most to you?" Revise the synthesis so the participant remains the primary authority on their own story.