Childhood, well-being and a therapeutic ethos (Karnac, 2009)
Includes bibliographical references and index
Editorial introduction: 'Therapeutic ethos' in therapeutic, educational and cultural perspectives / Richard House and Del Loewenthal -- Childhood, well-being and a therapeutic ethos : a case for therapeutic education / Del Loewenthal -- What is a toxic childhood? / Sue Palmer -- The challenge of modern childhood / Christopher Clouder -- The good childhood : an inquiry by the Children's Society / Bob Reitemeier -- Childhood 'toxicity' and 'trauma' : asking the right questions / Ricky Emanuel -- The changing space of childhood and its relationship to narcissism / Sami Timimi -- Why love matters in early childhood / Sue Gerhardt -- Resisting images of the 'diminished self' in education policy and practice for emotional well-being / Kathryn Ecclestone -- The 'mind object' and 'dream consciousness' : a Winnicottian and Steinerean rationale for avoiding the premature 'adultifying' of children / Richard House -- First catch your child / Andrew Samuels -- The importance of play and playfulness / Biddy Youell -- Everyday play activities as therapeutic and pedagogical encounters / Elizabeth Wood -- From playing to thinking : how the kindergarten provides a foundation for scientific understanding / Eugene Schwartz -- Play--excerpts from They f*** you up and Affluenza / Oliver James -- Editorial conclusion: Therapeia today (re-instating the soul in human experience) / Del Loewenthal and Richard House
"All is clearly not well with children's well-being in the Anglo-Saxon West, as witnessed by a steady stream of research reports that place children's well-being in the UK and the USA very near, if not at, the bottom of international tables. This mounting cultural and political concern for children's well-being has been buttressed by high-profile media interest in the "toxic childhood" theme popularized by author Sue Palmer, and highlighted in the Open Letter published by the Daily Telegraph; and the chapters in this important new book arose directly from the addresses given by prominent Open Letter signatories to an expert seminar organized by Roehampton University's Research Centre for Therapeutic Education in December 2006." "A key theme of this book is that we urgently need a therapeutic ethos in order to bring both educational and therapeutic sensibilities to bear on the issue of children's wellbeing, if truly effective and appropriate policy responses to the current malaise are to be fashioned. Not least, we must pay particular attention to childhood experience, showing that scientific and technical developments are always secondary to the resources of the human soul, if we are to minimize the extent to which today's children will need therapy as adults. This will entail moving beyond narrowly mechanistic definitions of, and ways of thinking about, "well-being" and the psychological therapies. This book offers pointers to the kinds of arguments that can inform what is rapidly becoming a central concern of politicians and policy-makers." "A unique book in the field, Childhood, Well-being and A Therapeutic Ethos will be core cross-disciplinary reading in a range of academic and training contexts, including within Education, Psychology and Sociology departments, on early childhood studies and policy studies modules and degrees, and on child and other psychotherapy and counselling trainings."--Jacket