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Patchwork: Children, Trauma and Therapy

Author(s) : Miriam Grossman Harel

Reviews and Endorsements

'This book was published in Israel and is a collection of eight chapters covering almost thirty years of child and parent guidance and therapy in Israel. The first part of the book deals with preventive work in the field done in various kibbutzaim and villages and dealing with strengthening attachment between parents and children. There is a strong community stress and the work is based on attachment theory and structured family therapy. Along with this we find a use of object relation based concepts dealing with holding, containing and regulation of affect in infants and small children. Intervention is discussed and the use of outside sources and caregivers to reinforce parental skills. The next part of the book deals with ongoing work with children suffering from post traumatic syndrome disorder and the author returns to attachment theory, this time, as a method of creating safety for children traumatized by parental loss. The presence of secure attachment in the early years (Ainsworth 1982) seems to be one of the main predictors in restoring well being and adequate functioning in school age children. In those who have more difficulty, the direct therapy with the children includes strengthening existing attachment to caregivers as well as strengthening the caregiving functions of parents and parent substitutes in the child life. Discussions from the literature and case studies are presented which elucidate this connection. Examples are brought from Israeli and Palestinian therapists The therapist examines with honesty and reflection her own counter transference to these children and her experiences of vicarious traumatization as an Israeli therapist, living and working in the current war-torn reality. Each case contains a discussion of the therapeutic dilemmas faced by the therapist and the decisions made about the course and content of the therapy There is a very rich connecting of theoretical models to practice and this is one of the strengths of the book. The book is especially suited to therapists who deal with children and families where attachment problems are dealt with. It deals intensely and at length, with the task of creating resilience in traumatic situations , such as war, family violence and abuse. Social workers, art therapists and clinical psychologists can all be aided by the experience of Harel and her many-faceted intense therapy with children and parents.'
- Dr Sylvia Shapira, Former director of social service supervision, Kennedy Child Study Center, New York.