Childhood, Well-Being and Therapeutic Ethos

by House, Richard; Loewenthal, Del

• ISBN13: 9781855756335
• ISBN10: 1855756331
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780429911866
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-01-31
• Publisher: Karnac Books

Summary

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.

Author Biography

Richard House Ph.D. is Senior Lecturer in Psychotherapy, Counselling and Counselling Psychology at Roehampton University's Research Centre for Therapeutic Education (RCTE), and a trained Steiner Kindergarten and Class Teacher. Del Loewenthal D.Phil. is Professor of Psychotherapy and Counselling at Roehampton University, where he directs the RCTE. He is an existential-analytic psychotherapist and chartered counselling psychologist.

Table of Contents

The Editors and Contributors	p. ix
Foreword	p. xv
Acknowledgements	p. xix
Editorial introduction: 'Therapeutic ethos' in therapeutic, educational and cultural perspectives	p. 1
Childhood in Contemporary Perspective	p. 17
Childhood, well-being and a therapeutic ethos: A case for therapeutic education	p. 19
What is toxic childhood?	p. 37
The challenge of modern childhood Christopher Clouder	p. 55
The Good Childhood: An inquiry by the Children's Society	p. 75
Childhood and its Discontents: The Specific Concerns	p. 89
Childhood 'toxicity' and 'trauma': Asking the right questions	p. 91
The changing space of childhood and its relationship to narcissism	p. 99
Why love matters in early childhood	p. 113
Towards a Therapeutic Ethos for Childhood	p. 127
Resisting images of the 'diminished self' in education policy and practice for emotional well-being	p. 129
The 'mind object' and 'dream consciousness': A Winnicottian and a Steinerean rationale for avoiding the premature 'adultifying' of children	p. 155
First catch your child	p. 171
Play, Playfulness, and Children's Well-Being	p. 181
The importance of play and playfulness	p. 183
Everyday play activities as therapeutic and pedagogical encounters	p. 195
From playing to thinking: How the Kindergarten provides a foundation for scientific understanding	p. 209
Play—excerpts from They F*** You Up and Affluenza	p. 221
Editorial conclusion: Therapeia today (re-instating the soul in human experience)	p. 235
Index	p. 241
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