Psychotherapy of Abused and Neglected Children

Rating:
Summary: A primer for new therapists, reminders for others
Review: This presentation, by two experienced Canadian child psychologists, is a step by step address to the evaluation and therapy of children who have been abused and neglected. Their work is sensitive to all of the issues and particularly mindful of the role of the therapist as initial stranger/intruder. The guidance about the role of the therapist as a attachment object for children, who can potentially become critically important in the negotiation of the child's world in foster or home care, is core to their approach to healing.

Well written and especially useful to new therapists, this book makes liberal use of case material and children's drawings as examples of the ongoing process of therapy. The address to the role of the therapists liaison to caseworkers and courts, although from a Canadian view, will be helpful to all who struggle with dysfunctional systems.