Psychotherapy with Severely Deprived Children [Paperback]

Originally published in 1983, this study describes the experience of severely deprived children referred for individual psychoanalytic psychotherapy at the Tavistock Clinic in London, and at other clinics and schools. Most were living in childrens homes, all came from chaotic and disrupted families, and many had been abused or neglected. Children from such backgrounds have previously been considered unsuitable for psychotherapy, and the theoretical and technical issues arising from their treatment are discussed here, and detailed case material is presented.

There is a high rate of emotional and behavioural disturbance among children in community care. The experience of the therapists struggling, often painfully, to establish contact and communication with these young people, who have been hurt and disillusioned by life, provide illuminating material on the childrens perceptions of their lives. This book clearly demonstrates the need for and the capacity to respond to treatment, and it provides insights which are of relevance to all who are in close contact with such children.

Acknowledgments.  Contributors and Therapists.  Introduction.  1. Mary BostonThe Tavistock Workshop: An Overall View  2. Falling and Being Dropped  3. Sticking: More Girls in Care  4. Abandoned  5. Rolene SzurSexuality and Aggression as Related Themes  6. Mary BostonTechnical Problems in Therapy  7. Eva HolmesPsychological Assessment  8. Im Bad, No Good, Cant Think  9. Gianna HenryDifficulties about Thinking and Learning  10. Rolene SzurThe Transition from an Institution to a Family  11. Growing up in Foster Care: One Boys Struggles  12. Ronald BrittonBreakdown and Reconstitution of the Family Circle  13. Joan HuttenThinkinl³(