Therapeutic Approaches in Work With Traumatised Children and Young People: Theory and Practice (Therapeutic Communities)

This book gives extensive coverage to work by staff at the Cotswold Community, a therapeutic community of working with the psychodynamic principle, from 1994 to 2000. It Covers every aspect of the therapeutic way of working in great detail and gives good examples of practice and theory. It also lays out the principles that underpin way of working within a therapeutic environment.' - Children Now 'Trauma for many, is a fact of life. But is the right kind of human environment, so too is recovery.' - Attributed to Paul van Heeswyck from the foreword 'The text draw on the author's experience and wealth of material from staff discussions. The therapeutic framework is applied to this client group and integrated into all aspects of their care. The additional material on child-adult, staff-dynamics, supervision and management, will be of great interest to a wide range of residential staff, social workers, foster carers, therapists and educationalists caring for or working with emotionally needy children and young people.' - Community Care Based on work carried out by staff at the Cotswold Community over a number of years, Therapeutic Approaches in Work with Traumatized Children and Young People provides a clear and comprehensive link between theory and practice. The author shows how practice in residential child care, fostering and other areas of work with children can be developed in a way that is thoughtful and underpinned by a sound theoretical base. Meeting weekly to discuss and review their therapeutic practice in the light of relevant theoretical approaches, the staff at the Cotswold Community produced an invaluable record of working with emotionally traumatized children. The result, brought together here by Patrick Tomlinson, is an in-depth account of a "thinking culture" which provides continual opportunities to respond to children's needs in innovative ways - these include useful suggestions on a range of key issues including education and play, primary provision, sexuality and aggression. Cover......Page 1 Therapeutic Approaches in Work with Traumatized Children and Young People: Theory and Practice......Page 5 Contents......Page 7 Foreword......Page 13 Acknowledgements......Page 16 Introduction......Page 17 Emotional unintegration and integration......Page 20 Emotional containment......Page 21 1. The Cotswold Community......Page 24 The therapeutic resource role......Page 25 The therapeutic resource meeting......Page 26 Adaptation to need (the provision of ‘special things’)......Page 28 Working with omnipotent behavior......Page 32 Emotional preoccupation and the provision we make for children......Page 33 Transitional objects and the use of teddy bears......Page 35 The therapeutic task with emotionally unintegrated children......Page 36 The role of focal-carer and back-up carer......Page 39 The importance of food in a therapeutic setting......Page 41 Mealtimes......Page 42 Food and children’s physical weight......Page 43 The provision of food and drink for children and adults......Page 44 Children’s visits during bedtime......Page 45 Providing opportunities for primary provision and matters related to privacyand safety......Page 47 Working with fragilely integrated children......Page 50 Working with emotionally integrated and unintegrated children together......Page 54 Criteria for assessing whether a child is ready to move on......Page 56 Becoming emotionally integrated and moving on......Page 58 The move from a primary house and future contact with the child......Page 59 The referral process from a primary to secondary house......Page 60 The interrelationship of education and therapy......Page 63 The importance of education in the treatment of traumatized children......Page 66 The child’s experience of separation between care and education......Page 68 GCSEs and the relationship between a child’s academic and emotional development......Page 69 Regression within the education setting......Page 71 House–school handovers......Page 72 The involvement of a child’s carer with his time in school......Page 73 Working with breakdown in the school......Page 74 Learning support......Page 76 School homework......Page 78 Education staff ’s involvement with needs assessments......Page 79 Working on conflict between care and education staff......Page 80 Opportunities for play in houses......Page 82 Play and activity with children......Page 83 Children playing games that have an element of danger......Page 85 The symbolic and reality-based use of toys in children’s play......Page 86 The use of sensory experience rooms for children with learning difficulties......Page 87 The use of individual meetings in the treatment of emotionally deprived children......Page 88 The use of dolls and other figures in children’s meetings......Page 96 Talking groups......Page 97 The potential use of house group meetings......Page 98 How do adults work together in groupmeetings?......Page 100 Time boundaries and working through difficulties......Page 102 Working with children who find it extremely difficult to be in groups......Page 104 The use of language......Page 106 Things we say to children that feel inappropriate......Page 108 The use of humor......Page 109 The use of shouting......Page 110 8. Delinquent Excitement and Subculture......Page 112 Delinquency as a sign of hope......Page 113 Working with delinquent excitement and subculture in groups of children......Page 115 Working with excitement in the group about drugs......Page 116 How do we work with aspectsofyouth culturethat maybe offensive?......Page 117 Tarot cards and other types of fortune-telling......Page 119 Working with consequences......Page 120 Working through difficulties with children......Page 123 Authority......Page 125 Authority and containment in times of change......Page 127 The use of the word ‘boundaries’......Page 128 The gender balance in teams......Page 129 Dress and appearance in work......Page 130 Dress and sexuality......Page 131 Men wearing earrings at work......Page 132 The provision of sex education for emotionally unintegrated children......Page 133 Children’s sexuality and involvement with each other......Page 136 11. Working with Absence and Break Periods......Page 139 Going away for break periods......Page 140 Work with children during break periods......Page 141 Support for children who are away for break periods......Page 142 Working with the impact of staff illness and absence......Page 143 Staff meetings and matters related to absence......Page 145 Staff attendance on external courses and the implications for treatment......Page 146 A child’s carer leaving him something when she goes......Page 147 Preparation for a child’s planned leaving......Page 149 Marking a child’s leaving from a house......Page 150 The continuing contact with a child after he leaves a house......Page 152 Future contact with an adult who has left......Page 153 Working with a carer’s leaving and the care of individual children during this change......Page 154 The transition between carers when a child’s carer leaves......Page 156 Change of leadership and possible impact......Page 157 13. External Reality and Protection from Impingement (intolerable disruption and stimulation)......Page 160 How do we manage things children bring back to the house?......Page 161 Working with news items with children......Page 162 The massacre at Dunblane (1996)......Page 163 The impact of external processes on treatment......Page 164 Understanding violence and aggression......Page 166 How do we respond to particularly violent attacks on staff by children?......Page 168 How do we take violence seriously?......Page 169 How do we understand a child who harms, injures or kills a living creature?......Page 171 Physical restraint – what we learn from training......Page 172 Gender issues in relation to the therapeutic management of violence and physical restraint......Page 174 Physical restraint and physical holding......Page 175 Bullying......Page 176 The supervisor’s task......Page 177 Supervision with a staff member who has been physically attacked by a child......Page 179 Work with children towards whom we have powerful angry feelings......Page 180 What is our approach to work with a child who we feel is stuck?......Page 181 Vulnerability in residential work with children......Page 182 Management, treatment and safety......Page 184 Contact between senior managers and houses......Page 186 Staff hours of work in relation to the therapeutic task......Page 189 The reduction of hours staff work and its impact on the therapeutic approach......Page 190 Do we have enough unplanned time at work?......Page 193 Preserving thinking space in difficult times......Page 194 The giving and receiving of presents at Christmas......Page 197 Birthdays......Page 199 Group holidays......Page 200 Working with children’s parents......Page 202 Bedwetting and soiling......Page 204 Children’s clothing and appearance......Page 205 Children buying their own teddy bears......Page 207 Tickling and play fighting......Page 208 Peer group relationships for children......Page 209 The possible implications of lockable cupboards or boxes for children......Page 211 References......Page 213 Subject Index......Page 216 Author Index......Page 225 Annotation Therapeutic Work With Emotionally Disturbed And Abused Children Has Traditionally Been Approached In Terms Of Procedure And Competence. Drawn From The Work Carried Out By Staff At The Cotswold Community Over A Six-year Period, Therapeutic Approaches In Wo. The Cotswold Community -- Primary Provision -- Theory And Practice. Therapeutic Task With Emotionally Integrated Children- Theory And Practice -- Therapeutic Education. Play -- Therapeutic Communication -- Individual And Group Meetings For Children -- Language. Delinquent Excitement And Subculture -- Authority, Consequences And Reparation -- Gender Issues, Sexuality And Dress. Working With Absence And Break Periods -- Leavings, Endings And Beginnings. External Reality And Protection From Impingement (intolerable Disruption And Stimulation) -- Working With Violence And Aggression. Working With Strong Feelings And Supervision -- Management Structure And The Therapeutic Task. Special Events -- Other Questions, Other Possibilities. Patrick Tomlinson ; Foreword By Paul Van Heeswyk. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 211-213) And Indexes. Based on work carried out by staff at the Cotswold Community over a number of years, Therapeutic Approaches in Work with Traumatised Children and Young People provides a clear and comprehensive link between theory and practice. The author shows how practice in the field of residential child care, fostering and other areas of work with children can be developed in a way that is soundly based on theory. Meeting weekly to discuss and review their therapeutic practice in the light of relevant theoretical approaches, the staff at the Cotswold Community produced an invaluable record of working with