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Psychodynamic counselling with children and young people: an introduction, by Sue Keggereis, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, 198 pp., £21.99, ISBN 0-333-69330-2
Sue Keggereis's first training was as a child and adolescent psychotherapist, followed by an adult training. This book is a testament to her unique skill in translating complex theories and ways of working into accessible language and practice-based techniques.
It was a skill well known to those who had their first exposure to psychoanalytic theory and practice on the Birkbeck MSc. in Psychodynamic Counselling with Children and Adolescents. Sue Keggereis, the initiator and course director of this part-time MSc, brought an aliveness to the thinking behind the theory and an engagement with her students that, combined, provided a robust foundation for learning. For that reason, she inhabits a special place in her former students' pantheon of Good Objects.
I should know: I was one of those students. For all the pressures and challenges of the course – of which there were many – her rigour and high standards, her talent for explication, her warmth and humour and her genuine enjoyment of sharing her experiences and expertise made her a natural and gifted teacher.
These qualities shine through this book, which is aimed at professionals working in diverse settings including: schools and colleges, community resources and child and family clinics. It also speaks to those without a therapeutic brief but who nonetheless would find value in approaching psychodynamically their troubled young clients.
It is a measure of the clarity of the writing that the breadth of the intended audience is wholly realistic. Eminently readable, the book is comprehensible to both newcomers to psychodynamic thinking as well as to those in the midst of training and those who have qualified and are in the early phase of their careers. This is no small feat considering the complexity of psychodynamic thinking, not to mention the multitude of