Journal of Child & Adolescent Mental Health
ISSN: 1728-0583 (Print) 1728-0591 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rcmh20
Resilient Therapy: Working with Children and Families Bernice Castle To cite this article: Bernice Castle (2008) Resilient Therapy: Working with Children and Families, Journal of Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 20:1, 65-66 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.2989/JCAMH.2008.20.1.11.496
Published online: 12 Nov 2009.
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Article views: 83
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Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rcmh20 Download by: [Nanyang Technological University]
Date: 15 June 2016, At: 12:13
Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2008, 20(1): 65–66 Printed in South Africa — All rights reserved
Copyright © NISC Pty Ltd
JOURNAL OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH EISSN 1728–0591 DOI: 10.2989/JCAMH.2008.20.1.11.496
Book Review Resilient Therapy: Working with Children and Families
Downloaded by [Nanyang Technological University] at 12:13 15 June 2016
Angie Hart, Derek Blincow and Helen Thomas 2007, Routledge 224 pages ISBN 978-0-415-40385-6 (available in paperback and hardcover)
Clinicians and research practitioners Angie Hart, Derek Blincow and Helen Thomas have developed a therapeutic framework offering practitioners a method for promoting resilient processes in children (regardless of how persistently disadvantaged or deprived their circumstances may be) in Resilient Therapy: Working with Children and Families. They have used this method to good effect in the public mental health system in the UK and in this work they offer their insights, understandings and methods to all practitioners striving to foster resilient processes and outcomes in their client populations. The layperson’s idea of the term ‘resilience’, also known as ‘popular resilience’, is that it is present in most individuals and manifests as the ability to overcome difficult times. It is, in a sense, a static concept and does not assign agency to the individuals or systems involved. During the early years of research in this field, it was suggested that people born with certain personal characteristics or situational advantages showed greater resilience than those born without these traits or advantages. It may be safe to say that most people desperately in need of being resilient are probably those who do not possess these traits or advantages. While acknowledging the progression and usefulness of the large research and knowledge base surrounding the subject, the authors have branched out into their own understanding and here offer a framework to foster the processes that underlie being resilient for children in disadvantaged communities. The method is based on the concept of ‘real resilience’ that focuses on what leads to the presence of positive outcomes despite adverse circumstances. The authors use four fictional case studies to illuminate these concepts throughout the book. The authors have shown through their practice that it is possible to foster the processes leading to being resilient in almost all individuals by making small changes in order to ensure or promote improved outcomes. Children, parents and communities become co-practitioners in the process. The preferred term is ‘resilient practice’, rather than ‘resilience’, as this makes it a process to participate in rather than an individual trait or characteristic — a bit of ‘ordinary magic’, as it is termed in the book. ‘Four noble truths’ for resilient therapists are outlined as a basis for practising this method. They are Accepting (‘ordinary magic works best when we start where people are at’), Conserving (containment), Commitment (regardless of circumstances) and Enlisting (getting the right people involved). These ‘truths’ support the components leading to effective resilient therapy interventions and cannot be separated from them. The components are ensuring that basic human needs are addressed, fostering a sense of belonging, building skills for coping, and interventions for establishing a core self. A chapter titled ‘Making organisations work’ explores how organisations can work to accommodate and facilitate the use of Resilient Therapy. One is left with little doubt that Resilient Therapy is a complex concept that addresses complex human processes.
Downloaded by [Nanyang Technological University] at 12:13 15 June 2016
66
Book Review — Resilient Therapy: Working with Children and Families
The concept of fostering resilient mechanisms through therapeutic intervention is an exciting one for me as I have long been fascinated by the idea of what it means to be resilient and how it can be achieved in practice. I have to admit that a lazy part of myself was looking for a step-by-step outline (a recipe, if you like) for using the method; instead, the method framework is interwoven with theory and research findings that make sense in terms of thoroughness, counteract laziness and illuminate the noble truth of commitment. The book is very readable and the concepts are quite clearly described. The use of language is simple enough and one finds oneself being carried along the pages by recognisable ideas and comments that make good sense. The concepts and methods outlined in this book will certainly prove useful for therapists working with families, children and adolescents; particularly those in the public service and disadvantaged areas. We have to bear in mind, however, that in South Africa resources are even more limited than those available in the UK, where this method is being practised despite challenges … but then again, isn’t that what being resilient is all about?
Bernice Castle Clinical psychologist in private practice, Gleemoor e-mail: [email protected]
ISSN: 1728-0583 (Print) 1728-0591 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rcmh20
Resilient Therapy: Working with Children and Families Bernice Castle To cite this article: Bernice Castle (2008) Resilient Therapy: Working with Children and Families, Journal of Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 20:1, 65-66 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.2989/JCAMH.2008.20.1.11.496
Published online: 12 Nov 2009.
Submit your article to this journal
Article views: 83
View related articles
Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rcmh20 Download by: [Nanyang Technological University]
Date: 15 June 2016, At: 12:13
Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2008, 20(1): 65–66 Printed in South Africa — All rights reserved
Copyright © NISC Pty Ltd
JOURNAL OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH EISSN 1728–0591 DOI: 10.2989/JCAMH.2008.20.1.11.496
Book Review Resilient Therapy: Working with Children and Families
Downloaded by [Nanyang Technological University] at 12:13 15 June 2016
Angie Hart, Derek Blincow and Helen Thomas 2007, Routledge 224 pages ISBN 978-0-415-40385-6 (available in paperback and hardcover)
Clinicians and research practitioners Angie Hart, Derek Blincow and Helen Thomas have developed a therapeutic framework offering practitioners a method for promoting resilient processes in children (regardless of how persistently disadvantaged or deprived their circumstances may be) in Resilient Therapy: Working with Children and Families. They have used this method to good effect in the public mental health system in the UK and in this work they offer their insights, understandings and methods to all practitioners striving to foster resilient processes and outcomes in their client populations. The layperson’s idea of the term ‘resilience’, also known as ‘popular resilience’, is that it is present in most individuals and manifests as the ability to overcome difficult times. It is, in a sense, a static concept and does not assign agency to the individuals or systems involved. During the early years of research in this field, it was suggested that people born with certain personal characteristics or situational advantages showed greater resilience than those born without these traits or advantages. It may be safe to say that most people desperately in need of being resilient are probably those who do not possess these traits or advantages. While acknowledging the progression and usefulness of the large research and knowledge base surrounding the subject, the authors have branched out into their own understanding and here offer a framework to foster the processes that underlie being resilient for children in disadvantaged communities. The method is based on the concept of ‘real resilience’ that focuses on what leads to the presence of positive outcomes despite adverse circumstances. The authors use four fictional case studies to illuminate these concepts throughout the book. The authors have shown through their practice that it is possible to foster the processes leading to being resilient in almost all individuals by making small changes in order to ensure or promote improved outcomes. Children, parents and communities become co-practitioners in the process. The preferred term is ‘resilient practice’, rather than ‘resilience’, as this makes it a process to participate in rather than an individual trait or characteristic — a bit of ‘ordinary magic’, as it is termed in the book. ‘Four noble truths’ for resilient therapists are outlined as a basis for practising this method. They are Accepting (‘ordinary magic works best when we start where people are at’), Conserving (containment), Commitment (regardless of circumstances) and Enlisting (getting the right people involved). These ‘truths’ support the components leading to effective resilient therapy interventions and cannot be separated from them. The components are ensuring that basic human needs are addressed, fostering a sense of belonging, building skills for coping, and interventions for establishing a core self. A chapter titled ‘Making organisations work’ explores how organisations can work to accommodate and facilitate the use of Resilient Therapy. One is left with little doubt that Resilient Therapy is a complex concept that addresses complex human processes.
Downloaded by [Nanyang Technological University] at 12:13 15 June 2016
66
Book Review — Resilient Therapy: Working with Children and Families
The concept of fostering resilient mechanisms through therapeutic intervention is an exciting one for me as I have long been fascinated by the idea of what it means to be resilient and how it can be achieved in practice. I have to admit that a lazy part of myself was looking for a step-by-step outline (a recipe, if you like) for using the method; instead, the method framework is interwoven with theory and research findings that make sense in terms of thoroughness, counteract laziness and illuminate the noble truth of commitment. The book is very readable and the concepts are quite clearly described. The use of language is simple enough and one finds oneself being carried along the pages by recognisable ideas and comments that make good sense. The concepts and methods outlined in this book will certainly prove useful for therapists working with families, children and adolescents; particularly those in the public service and disadvantaged areas. We have to bear in mind, however, that in South Africa resources are even more limited than those available in the UK, where this method is being practised despite challenges … but then again, isn’t that what being resilient is all about?
Bernice Castle Clinical psychologist in private practice, Gleemoor e-mail: [email protected]
