Selma Fraiberg's Magic Years - a new series by Joel Kanter

The first two parts of Joel Kanter's series of articles about Selma Fraiberg are now available to read in the goodenoughcaring Journal.

 The first article Fraiberg Remembered Part One The Magic Years can be found at here.

The second Selma Fraiberg's Magic Years Part Two "An unconventional Analytic Training" can be read at here.

John Cross, 1931 – 2017

John Cross

John Cross, for over 60 years an influential figure in the field of planned environment therapy in therapeutic communities for children has died aged 85 at his home in Cheltenham. He retired from his role as Director of the Planned Environment Therapy Trust in 2012. Until the onset of his illness in the autumn of 2015,  John continued to be  involved in the daily life of PETT at Toddington in Gloucestershire.

In 1952, his early ambition to take up a place at Durham University and  to become a politician faded on the completion of his National Service when the direction of his life was altered by a summer placement at Bodenham Manor School where David Wills was the Warden. John decided that what was going on at the school felt right and that shared experience in a therapeutic community would provide the pathway for his life. In the following decades John was engaged in the community life of Bodenham Manor School, Herefordshire, Ashley House Remand Home, Worksop, New Heys Reception Centre, Liverpool and New Barns School, Toddington.

At the same time as he was engaged as a member of the group of children and adults at New Barns John became a psychotherapist, served as a magistrate in the Juvenile Justice System, was the Chairman of the Youth and Family Courts and  Vice Chairman of the Gloucestershire Probation Committee.

John maintained his relationships with those who had been with him and his colleagues at New Barns. Over the years he became a ‘best man’ at their weddings and a godparent at the christening of their children many times over.

John played an influential role in a number of other organisations. He was a founding member of the Association of Workers with Maladjusted Children (AWMC) which later became the Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties Association (SEBDA) and for over 40 years served on its Council. Prior to his death was John was the only living founding member of PETT. He was a founding member of other groups too including the Charterhouse Group, Young Minds and the Child Care History Network.

Over his career John wrote and presented a number of influential papers about therapeutic communities and planned environment therapy and he co-authored the controversial 1979 Quaker publication Six Quakers Look at Crime and Punishment: A Study Paper.

John was a Quaker. He was a man modest about his achievements. For him achievement was the shared experience of a community. John is survived by his two sisters Sybil and Cynthia. He will be sorely missed and fondly remembered by so many of the people with whom he shared experience and a community life.

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Here is the text of an interview with John from 2010 and this is the article he wrote for the goodenoughcaring Journal in 2012, Some tentative thoughts on the concept of planned environment therapy is at http://www.goodenoughcaring.com/the-journal/some-tentative-thoughts-on-the-concept-of-planned-environment-therapy/

This month's goodenoughcaring Journal author : Cynthia Cross

Each month during 2017  we are highlighting articles of authors who have contributed to the goodenoughcaring Journal over the years. The first author featured in this series is Cynthia Cross. The articles we have selected are  Acceptance,  Winnicott and Residential Work and Defensive Adults.

There are a number of other excellent articles written by Cynthia to be found in the goodenoughcaring Journal. Cynthia welcomes discussion of the issues she raises and comments about them can be mailed to goodenoughcaring@icloud.com

The Next Limbus Talk: Learning Disabilities Psychotherapy

Farhad Dalal has informed us of the next Limbus talk which will take place at  Studio 3, The Space, Dartington Hall on February 25, 2017. The talk Viewing Learning Disabilities Psychotherapy through an Attachment Lens: Theoretical Perspectives & Practical Strategies will be given by Kelly Camilleri & Kathy McKay.

It begins at 10.30 and admission is £20. You can pay at the door or online through the website at limbus.org.uk

If you intend to pay at the door you are asked to arrive well before time to avoid hold ups.

Abstract : This talk aims to explore themes around working therapeutically with people who live with labels of intellectual disability, autism and acquired brain injury. What are the psychological sequelae of being born with or acquiring a disability in terms of attachment and early relations? How might therapy need to be adapted to meet individual cognitive or sensory needs? What is the role of trauma in psychological distress and how might this manifest differently in people with these labels? How is power perceived and played out in our systems of care? The talk aims to provide a psychological understanding from a variety of perspectives, with special consideration for the use of Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) for this group and their systems. Within the context of a short term, goal orientated therapy world how can we provide meaningful support which is individually tailored?

Dr Kelly Camilleri is an independent Consultant Clinical Psychologist. She qualified 19 years ago from Birmingham University and has since worked with children and adults with learning difficulty, autism, and acquired disability. Kelly has worked in a variety of sectors including the NHS, charity and the private sector. She is particularly interested in the role of attachment and trauma for the individual and their systems. Kelly is a keen proponent on the use of DDP for this group which she feels enables a dual approach focusing both on peoples internal and external worlds. She is on the Division of Clinical Psychology Southwest Committee and is the coordinator for local Psychology Against Austerity Group.

Dr Kathy McKay is a Clinical Psychologist who has worked in Learning Disability Services in the NHS since qualifying in 1995. She has also worked in Independent Practice since 2007. Settings have included community Learning Disability teams, In-patient Units and a Secure Forensic Unit. She has also worked in a CAMHS Service in a secure childrens home, and currently provides regular input into a Local Authority Family Centre to support them in taking into account a parents learning needs in their assessment and intervention processes. Kathy has provided training on attachment and trauma in learning disabilities, and further on creating attachment friendly environments in a number of the aforementioned settings. Like Kelly, Kathy has completed training in DDP, which was a driver for this area of work.

Other talks on  2017 Limbus programme

May 20, Sally Weintrobe  Climate Change and the New Imagination

Sep 16, Paul Zeal               Breath, Gender and Nature’s Dreaming

Nov 11, Sue Mizen            Metaphor Making in the Relational Brain

This entry was posted in goodenoughcaring.com home page on January 27, 2017