1st Edition

Therapy with Infants Treating a Traumatised Child

By Inger Poulsen, Inger Thormann Copyright 2016
    192 Pages
    by Routledge

    192 Pages
    by Routledge

    When a child without a fully developed language experiences physical and psychological stress that exceeds the child's capacity to cope, the experience can leave lasting marks, unless the child receives treatment.Infant therapy is a method inspired by the work of the French pediatrician and psychoanalyst Francoise Dolto and her student Caroline Eliacheff. The method can be applied both with infants and with older children. The most important messages are, "Never allow the child's pain to be forgotten," and "Everything that is left unsaid ties up energy." In therapy, the therapist puts the child's stressful experiences into words. The infant's story is told, the words bring order to the child's chaos, and the trauma becomes an identified part of his or her life.Infant therapy is primarily a therapeutic intervention aimed at traumatised infants, but the method can also be applied in daily educational practices by preschool teachers, nurses, teachers, day care providers and parents.

    Foreword -- Part I -- Presentation of Françoise Dolto and Caroline Eliacheff -- Infant therapy in practice at Skodsborg treatment centre for infants -- Therapy with infants as it is practiced at The Family House in Horsens -- Case: Adam -- Affective attunement and special moments -- Attachment as the foundation of the child’s development -- Attachment and separation: abandonment syndrome -- A theoretical model -- Transitional objects and phenomena and their role as protective measures -- Therapy with infants: how is it possible? -- Infant therapy as a preventive measure -- Part II -- Using the method of infant therapy with older children -- The method of infant therapy and other professions -- Infant therapy with adopted children -- The method of infant therapy in adult therapy -- National and international interest in identifying and treating trauma in infants

    Biography

    Poulsen, Inger