#TIP4Care2019

Establishing Security for the Child

Posted on November 4, 2019October 27, 2019 by Florence

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog about Sylvia Duncan’s presentation at the Trauma Informed Practice Conference in Birmingham in September, which you can find HERE. I mentioned how she pointed out the importance of not making false promises, in order to gain a child’s trust. I have realised that there is something else she mentioned that is important to share.

She spoke about how children who have not been able to form attachments when they were very young, and those whose trust has been broken to the point where they have lost any willingness to form new attachments, may be 7 or 8 years old, but in a lot of ways, emotionally, they function like babies. Because they have not had the opportunity to go through those early development stages yet, or they have regressed to before the stage where they went through that development.

Roleplaying to Overcome Trauma

Posted on October 28, 2019October 27, 2019 by Florence

At the Trauma Informed Practice Conference in Birmingham in September, Nandor Grosch presented the work he does through film-making with institutionalised children, in Hungary. A project where he allows the children to determine the story that is going to be acted out and helps them act it out and film it. Over 400 films have been made by the children to date, over the years.

Behaviour as Communication

Posted on October 21, 2019October 20, 2019 by Florence

At the Trauma Informed Practice Conference, in Birmingham in September, Caryn Onions presented the achievements and approach of The Mulberry Bush, a therapeutic residential school for children who are severely traumatised, in Oxford. I was very impressed by what they are accomplishing at the Mulberry Bush, and I was particularly struck by their approach to the children’s challenging behaviour.

To Know Your Life Story

Posted on October 14, 2019October 14, 2019 by Florence

Children who grow up in a family, from the time they were small babies, know the story about their life. They love asking their parents to tell them about the time that… they were born, their siblings arrived, they hit certain milestones, the family moved house or had big celebrations, and so on. By talking about these things, sharing memories and stories, by watching photos and videos these children build up their life story. And their life story includes a narrative from the time of which they have no memories.

Our life story is important for our sense of identity. It plays a role in our image of who we are. Unfortunately, for children in alternative care it is very rare to know about their entire life and to have a complete life story to hold on to.

Keeping Best Interest at the Centre

Posted on October 7, 2019October 7, 2019 by Florence

The Convention on the Rights of the Child states in several articles that the Best Interest of the child should always be kept at the centre of all decision making and should take precedence over all other considerations. This is a very important principle. One that is generally acknowledged to be correct. In fact, in many countries, the law states the same thing. However in practice, the best interest of the child very often falls by the roadside.