Feeling at sea: the anchor of the therapeutic space

Abstract

This paper describes and discusses the creation and development of a therapeutic service set up in an inner city primary school over the period of 10 years. It explores this emotional well-being model and how it acts as an anchor for the children, staff and parents.

Case examples illustrate the authors’ work in a multidisciplinary team and focuses specifically on Bion’s theory of ‘container-contained.’ The authors underline how the therapeutic interventions need to be held in the containing vessel of the school’s robust thinking and understanding of the therapeutic process and how the therapeutic work impacts on the well-being of the children as they work on their experiences within the school and outside community.

Keywords:

• containment
• observation
• Reflection
• school
• therapy
• attunement

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Jessica Maliphant undertook the Tavistock Clinic and University of East London course in Psychoanalytic Observational Studies. During the course she worked with a little boy with autism in a mainstream primary school; this experience combined with the learning from the course ignited her on-going interest in the creative possibilities of contained interpersonal communication. Since then she has worked with children of all ages from preschool to secondary school in various settings, in roles that have made use of therapeutic thinking.

Tina Horner is an art psychotherapist. She trained at Goldsmiths University and completed the Tavistock Clinic/University of East London course in Psychoanalytic Observational Studies. She works as an art therapist in primary education and is employed by schools and the voluntary sector. She works with children and their families, supports teachers and the school team and also has her own private practice. Her interest is in how to integrate a reflective space to observe and listen into mainstream education.

Notes

1 Goodman's (1999) ‘Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire’ and feedback from the children, families and teachers before and after interventions have been collated by the lead therapist throughout the life of the project and used in maintaining governor’s support and securing funding.

2 Over the years the therapy team have provided staff training focussing on understanding behaviour, neuroscience, mentalization, school-based therapeutic provision and the relevance of attachment theory.

3 One in-house arts psychotherapist, one consultant therapist, three trainee therapists and two volunteer therapists accruing clinical hours.

4 Tidal islands are connected to the main land by causeways that remain hidden at high tide.

5 One of the reasons for this increase may have been that the school was designated ‘Outstanding’ by the Education Inspectorate, Ofsted, whose report specifically recognized the school’s inclusion and behaviour policies.

6 Mudlarking was recognised as a profession in the Victorian era. ‘Mudlarkers’ were generally children or elderly people who scoured the mud alongside rivers in order to find things that could be sold.