A Report on the Conference

In his introductory remarks, Dr Robert Gilman expressed the hope that this Conference on psychoanalytic insights into the problems of adoption might help shape social policy. This set the scene for an extremely rich and productive meeting. Throughout, psychoanalysts and those working in the field of Social Services attempted to explore not only the inner world of the child, but also external social issues and their effect on the adopted child.

Discussion of the Paper by Jill Hodges

In the discussion of Jill Hodges’ paper participants saw the adopted child's search for the biological parent as a search for identity, and also, in the child whose cultural origins are different from those of his adoptive parents, as a search for cultural identity. Dr Ilse Hellman, citing her experience of maintaining contact with children from the War Nurseries set up by Anna Freud, illustrated the strength of the attachment to, and the consequent identification with, the substitute parent. The discussion then moved on to aspects of social-work practice in relation to adoption, such as the provision of a ‘life-story book’, which is used to help an adopted child to explore and integrate memories and experiences prior to the adoption. Although this was considered to be a helpful tool for facilitating the mourning process and increasing the child's sense of narcissistic support, Maria Berger pointed out that the usefulness of such a book depends largely on the sensitivity of the social worker who uses it. Related questions from social workers at the meeting, who invited a psychoanalytic view in relation to social-work practice, were: whether or not the biological parents should provide a photograph of themselves and a letter to the child, which would be given to the child by the adoptive parents at some stage; and whether the biological parents and the adoptive parents should maintain ongoing contact. Anne-Marie Sandler stressed that although such efforts, including the l