Isabel Menzies Lyth 1917-2008

Having read and been fascinated by Isabel's seminal work in organizations, plus having been on a ‘mini-Leicester’ conference in which she was a highly enigmatic staff member, I had never dreamt that I would have

supervision with this rather formidable lady. Isabel, by now in her eighties, agreed to my visiting her in Oxford once a month, for a morning's supervision on my consultation work with the staff of small organizations working with severely deprived children. There was a period when she offered to read the book on which I was working (Lanyado 2003), when the morning extended through lunch and into the afternoon. I would leave, reeling from all the interesting and always challenging discussion. Isabel would be merely a ‘wee bit tired’!

My fond memories are accompanied with gratitude for all that Isabel contributed to the understanding and environmental care of ill and severely deprived children, which was expressed in her many years of consultation to the staff of the Cotswold Community. Isabel's writings enable some sense to be made of the enormous difficulties and strains faced by staff trying to offer therapeutic help of many kinds, to children who are looked after by the local authorities. No doubt, Isabel's analysis with Bion and her lifelong appreciation of how mad big groups can become, particularly if they are working with ‘mad’ people, made her highly aware of how readily organizations can lose sight of their core task and end up crazy and unhealthy places to work in, or to be ‘looked after’ by.

Isabel remained committed to the value of working with children, to the end. She also remained deeply identified with her Scottish roots. She must have thought long and hard about asking those who wished to remember her to send donations to the Scottish Child Psychotherapy Trust, rather than sending flowers to her funeral. In this way she truly honoured our profession.

Dr Monica Lanyado PhD

Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, Association of Child, Psychotherap