Observation as a therapeutic intervention for infants and young children in care

Abstract

More than half of all children entering care in the UK are infants and children under five. The emotional and mental health needs of this population tend to be overlooked. Research described in this paper aimed to find out about the experience of an infant or young child in care and to inform training and support for health and social care professionals. The study found that therapeutic observation with a looked-after infant was feasible and provided an in-depth perspective on the experiences of the baby and his foster carers. The paper outlines the clinical context, defines therapeutic observation, describes stages in the first year of life of the observed infant and his transition to adoption, discusses functions of the therapeutic observer, describes applications of the research and makes suggestions for further research.

Keywords:

• infant in care
• looked-after child
• foster care
• transition
• therapeutic observation

Acknowledgements

I owe thanks to ‘Nadira’ and her family, who welcomed me into their home and from whom I learned so much. I am also grateful to Rahan's social workers and the social work managers who gave their support to the project, to Deborah Steiner, my research supervisors Margaret Rustin and Eilis Kennedy, colleagues in the Tavistock Centre and in the ACP fostering and adoption special interest group, and family and friends for many helpful discussions.