Therapy with Children and Young People

Colleen McLaughlin is a Professor of Education at the University of Sussex School of Education and Social Work. For over twenty-five years she worked at the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education where she directed a child and adolescent psychotherapeutic programme. She has written, researched and spoken on child and adolescent care and wellbeing, which is her passion. She is also concerned to promote the wider role of schools and teachers. She taught in schools and worked as a counsellor. She is a Fellow of BACP. Carol Holliday is an Affiliated Lecturer at the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education, where she now leads the programme for child and adolescent psychotherapy. She is an United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy registered Arts Psychotherapist who works therapeutically with children, adolescents and adults. She has twenty years experience of clinical practice and also works as a clinical supervisor. Carol has particular interests in relationships between children and adults, and in working with images: in therapy, education and research. Her doctoral research explored the contributions of psychotherapy to the teacher/child relationship and she is an award-winning author of publications helping teachers to understand and work with children's feelings.

PART ONE: SETTING THE CONTEXT Introduction - Colleen McLaughlin The Child, The School, Counselling and Psychotherapy - Colleen McLaughlin PART TWO: UNDERSTANDING AND WORKING WITH THE DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS OF CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE Infancy: The foundations of learning and relating - Julia Buckroyd Pre-school and the Early Years - Fiona Peacock The Primary School Years - Clair Lewoski Working with the Developmental Tasks of Adolescence during the Secondary School Years - Tracey Fuller PART THREE: WORKING THERAPEUTICALLY WITH CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS IN SCHOOLS The Therapeutic Relationship: Building a working alliance with children and adolescents - Carol Holliday The Therapeutic Relationship: Conditions and processes - Carol Holliday Working with Thinking, Feeling and the Importance of the Body - Carol Holliday Creative Therapeutic Interventions - Carol Holliday Intervening to Work with Other Relationships - Fiona Peacock PART FOUR: PROFESSIONAL ISSUES IN COUNSELLING WITH CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS Professional and Ethical issues in the Beginning and Ongoing Phases of Therapy in Schools - Tracey Fuller 'Just because we can't talk about the sessions, doesn't mean we can't talk': Professional and Ethical Issues in the On-going and Ending Phases of Therapy - Eileen Armstrong Psychotherapeutic Counselling in a Multi-Disciplinary Multi-Agency Environment - Fiona Peacock

Drawing together the latest research, and filled with clear practice examples, this book is an excellent resource for counsellors and therapists in schools, as well as those who supervise and co-ordinate this work. Richly informed by theory and practice, the authors have also produced a readable, engaging and accessible text which will prove valuable to everyone involved in this area of therapy. -- Seamus Prior This book is a must-read for counselors and psychotherapists who work with children and young people. Colleen McLaughlin and Carol Holliday, also drawing on the expertise of other renowned practitioners in the field, have provided a comprehensive and engaging guide which will help all of us who work in this field to better find our way through the joys, challenges and complexities of working therapeutically with children and young people within multi-disciplinary contexts. This applies particularly to counselling in schools, but I would recommend this book to those who work therapeutically with children or young people in any setting. The ecological approach the authors propose valuably locates the therapist's role within the wider picture around the child or young person, advocating wider involvement in this as a support for therapeutic work, while working through the professional issues arising. This enlightened approach, informed by extensive practice and training experience, is further bolstered by the use of a relational and integrative framework for making sense of the unique needs of each child or young person we might come into contact with, as well as lots of relevant and practical ideas to deepen and enliven therapy sessions. Practitioners will also find the detailed exploration of developmental stages and their implications for meeting the child or young person 'where they are' very useful, as well as the carefully considered discussions on ethical and professional aspects of their work. There is also a valuable section dedicated to working in schools, reflecting the importance of this setting as a base for the provision of counseling and psychotherapy for children and young people. All of the themes discussed are supported across the book by well informed and presented use of relevant information, recent research and pertinent theory, as well as numerous composite case vignettes which bring the ideas and insights presented to life. This is the book many of us working in this field as practitioners and trainers have been waiting for, as it draws together the many strands which run through therapeutic work with children and young people to produce a vibrant collage of clinical, practical and creative elements which will stimulate thinking and support best practice. This book also provides an excellent introduction for those new to this area, or those training to work therapeutically in it. Colleen McLaughlin and Carol Holliday have more than done justice to the importance of providing high quality therapeutic interventions for our children and young people. Very strongy recommended. -- Dr. Phil Goss