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This innovative book, based on eighty experiences of therapy with children and adolescents in care, should be read by all child psychotherapists. The introduction clearly describes the role of the child psychotherapist and the clinical setting, but the book will be of enormous interest and use to the whole range of professionals working with children in care and their carers.
The clinical experiences with children are sharply observed and described. Margaret Hunter is particularly skilled at naming and interpreting her countertransference in an open manner. The particular difficulties of connecting with children who have often had what seems like a lifetime of dealing with neglectful and abusing parental figures comes to life quickly in the text. There are evocative descriptions of extremely vulnerable children who have learnt to ‘wrong foot’ adults and leave the therapist not knowing what will contain and begin to make sense of their profound experiences of abandonment. One of the central themes of the book is that of emotional containment in the therapy sessions - the complex issues of when to ‘hold on’ to the child's projections and when to give them back as interpretations are explored in different clinical examples.
This book immediately challenges stereotyped ideas of technique and of when therapy is a possible treatment. Hunter emphasizes the need for flexibility and open mindedness in thinking about how child psychotherapy can contribute to the child in care. She ably demonstrates that children can be treated, with good effect, even when they are in transitional placements. She also describes the usefulness of the assessment process, providing that the child and the care network are clear about the rules of engagement and confidentiality.
Hunter recognizes how useful such an emotional snapshot can be for social work teams trying to fit services to the needs of accommodated children and she sensitively appreciates that social workers frequently have insufficient