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2.30LD:6597.42(BAAF-PS--9) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Developmental attachment psychotherapy with fostered and adopted children

Developmental attachment theory and research is now beginning to inform practice, particularly in the field of foster care and adoption. A brief outline of attachment theory and the four main patterns of attachment is followed by a review of attachment-based support services and psychotherapies with fostered and adopted children, including infants, preschoolers, school age children, and caregivers. Particular attention is given to the behaviour, defensive strategies and developmental needs of fostered and adopted children with pre-placement histories of abuse and neglect

Transracial adoption in Britain: Politics, ideology and reality

Transracial adoptions by white parents are situated at the intersections of family and public policy. Debates on racial integration are juxtaposed with child rights and the private sphere of the family. In Britain, the practices of transracial adoption and 'racial matching' continue to invite fierce debate and discussion. Several factors, including the ongoing disproportionate representation of minority ethnic children in the public care system, the 'unavailability' of suitable minority ethnic adoptive parents, concerns about adoptees' racial/cultural identity and the 'suitability' of white parents to raise racially competent children, form the backdrop for such debates. For the last decade or so, political attention has been focused on permanence for children in care and adoption in particular. Within these wider debates, the allegedly low adoption rates of minority ethnic children, the 'delay' in finding suitable adoptive families, the 'rejection' of suitable white adoptive couples, and 'ethnic matching' are presented as some of the key concerns. Ravinder Barn and Derek Kirton seek to unravel the evidence base around transracial adoption and 'racial matching' in the symbolic representational battle being fought in the 'best interests' of minority ethnic children

Core principles and therapeutic objectives for therapy with adopted and permanent foster families

Angie Hart and Barry Luckock provide an organising framework for integrated practice decision-making in specialist therapy with adoptive and permanent foster families. The framework is located in current available insights from theory and evidence from empirical research, personal therapeutic practice and family life. The authors formulate an initial case example and use it to illustrate their approach throughout as it demonstrates the distinctiveness of adoptive and permanent foster family life. The paper then outlines a set of core principles and objectives in relation to which therapy for these families should be planned