The Child in Context

First published in 1985, The Child in Context is the first to bring together the practice of educational psychology and the 'family-systems' theories regularly practised by psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers in their attempt to understand the relationship between individuals and the social systems of which they are a part. The author, an educational psychologist herself, demonstrates how the educational psychologist can, in her efforts to help children who are failing in mainstream education, incorporate an understanding of family processes into her work with the child and his family. This integrative approach is also applied to the other system-the school-to which the child belongs, and to the interrelationship between different professionals involved in the management of the child. This book was written in the wake of the 1981 Education Act, at a time when educational psychologists were increasing their contact with parents. The discussion is illustrated with examples from the writer's own experience with children of various ages and nationalities and covers a wide variety of behavioural and developmental difficulties.

1. Introduction 2. The children 3. Consultation 4. Parents as partners 5. Family therapy 6. The child's 'symptoms' and the family system 7. The family under stress 8. Involving parents: the early stages 9. Understanding and helping the child and his family 1. Troubled children, troubled family systems: two case-histories 11. Partnership and the family system 12. Learning difficulties 13. Counselling in a family-systems framework 14. Joint systems: psychologist, family and school 15. Joint systems and school refusal 16. Parents and children from different cultural backgrounds 17. The interrelationship between helping professionals 18. Family-systems theory and the practising educational psychologist