Recommended Reading, Listening and Watching
When I embarked upon making this list of books, articles, papers, films, music and songs which have been helpful to me and others when they have been studying the development and nurture of children I was tempted at first to place them in two distinct categories. One category was to be for the general reader and the other for the more specialised reader. However when I started to do this I found it an impossible task. It soon donned on me that all good books about children and their upbringing have something of interest for both the general and specialist reader. You may of course argue that this is the rationale of a lazy compiler, but in an attempt to divert that charge where a book whose title seemed obscure or esoteric, I have made a short comment on its general theme. There may be important omissions from this list but this will probably be because I have not heard, seen or read those particular items. I would be grateful to be advised of these so that I can check them out and where necessary make the record straight.
This is ever a work in progress.
Alvarez, A. (1992) Live Company : Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy with Autistic, Borderline, Deprived and Abused Children London Routledge
Ammaniti, N. (2003) I'm Not Scared Edinburgh Canongate This novel is in my view not only a thundering good read but also provides an insightful tableau of the vicissitudes of childhood with its shifting alliances, its discovery of adult fallibility, its seemingly casual yet emotionally costly betrayals, and the mix of helplessness and bravery with which children confront adult situations when they are forced to do so.
Anderson,R., & Dartington, A.(eds)1998) Facing It Out : Clinical Perspectives on Adolescent Disturbance London Duckworth
Axline,V.M. (1964) Dibs : In Search of Self London Houghton
Beedell,C.(1970) Residential Life with Children London Routledge and Kegan Paul
Bettelheim, B. (1974) A Home for the Heart London Thames and Hudson.
Burnside, J. (2008) Glister London Jonathan Cape This blistering, harrowing yet beautiful novel distils the poisoned essence of the social dysfunction in a post-industrial community and traces the tragic events which befall Leonard Wilson, the book's adolescent hero - who is the carer for his isolated and ill father - as he tries to make sense of his world.
Cantet, L. (2009, Director) Film : Entre les Murs France Entitled The Class in the United Kingdom, this film really touches the spot where the subtleties of the power lie in the relationship between seemingly reasonable liberal adults and the young people - in this case a class of immigrant teenagers at a school in Paris - they are responsible for helping and educating. I think youngsters and workers should view this together and follow it up with an honest discussion.
Copley, B., & Ferryan, B. (1997, 2nd edition) Therapeutic Work with Children and Young People London Cassell
Courtioux, M., Davies Jones, H., Kalcher, J., Steinhauser, W., Tuggener, H., Waaldjik, K. (1987) The Socialpedagogue in Europe - Living with others as a profession Zurich Federation Internationale des Communautes Educatives (FICE) This collection of essays is a seminal source for all those interested in the work and place of the life space worker (socialpedagogue) in the field of child care and education.
Davies Jones, H. (1970) Leadership in Residential Child Care London National Children's Home
Dockar Drysdale, B. (1968,1973) Therapy and Consultation in Child Care London Free Association Books 1993
Dwivedi, N.D., (1988) Group Work with Children and Adolescents : A Handbook London Jessica Kingsley 1999
Erikson, E., (1950) Childhood and Society New York Norton & Co,Inc. Erikson's model of life development is a very helpful map and his idea of trust versus mistrust of our environment has helped me gain insight of the problems which face all of us and not only troubled youngsters. I don't think this book is currently in print but you can sometimes find a Penguin Pelican edition of it in second hand book shops.
Fulcher,L. & Ainsworth, F. (eds) (1985) Group Care Practice with Children London Tavistock Publications
Greenhalgh, P. (1994) Emotional Growth and Learning London Routledge
Hardwick, A. & Woodhead, J. (eds) (1999) Loving, Hating and Survival Aldershot Arena This is a wide-ranging handbook, based on psychodynamic theory for all those who work who work with troubled children and young people.
Hinshelwood, R.D. (1987) What Happens in Groups : Psychoanalysis, the Individual and the Community London Free Association Books
Holmes,J. (2001) The Search for the Secure Base : Attachment Theory and Psychotherapy Hove Brunner-Routledge
Jones, H. (1960) Reluctant Rebels : Re: education and group process in a residential community London Tavistock Publications On re-reading this book in the autumn of 2007, it is easy to dismiss it as outdated but if you wipe away some of the more superficial social and cultural elements relating to the time it was written the reader finds a very helpful analysis of the dynamics of group living and of the therapeutic potential of the group living setting for troubled young people.
Jones,H.(1979) The Residential Community: A Setting for Social Work London Routledge & Kegan Paul
Kahan, B. (1994) Growing up in Groups London HMSO
Kornerup, H.(ed) (2009) "Milieu Therapy" with children : Planned Environmental Therapy in Scandinavia London Karnac Books This is a comprehensive theoretical and practical guide to the use of milieu therapy which begins to build a bridge between psychodynamic and social pedagogic approaches to residential child care.
Little, M. with Kelly, S. (1995) A life Without Problems ? The Achievements of a Therapeutic Community Aldershot Arena
Mahler,G. (music,1904) & Ruckert,F. (lyrics, date of writing not known) Kindertotenlieder : "Nun will die Sonn' so hell aufgeh'n", "Nun seh' Ich wohl, warum so dunkle Flammen", "Wenn dein Mutterlein", "Oft denk' Ich sie sind nur ausgegangen", and "In diesem Wetter". Songs about unbearable loss.
Meadows, S. (2008, Director) Film : Somers Town UK This is a poignant, touching, if at times painful film about the relationship between an isolated Polish teenager living in London with his father and a vulnerable young person who has absconded from a children's home in the midlands of England.
Menzies Lyth, I. (1988) Containing Anxieties in Institutions : Selected Essays, vol.1 London Free Association Books
Milham,S., Bullock,R., & Cherrett, P. (1975) After Grace – Teeth London Human Context Books In its time this was a very influential piece of research which exposed the institutionalisation in Community Homes with Education (CHEs) the establishments which were borne out of the 1969 Children Act.
Milham,S., Bullock,R., Hosie,K., and Haak,M. (1986) Lost in Care : The Problem of Maintaining Links between Children in Care and their Families London Gower
Neill, A.S.(1962) Summerhill Harmondsworth Penguin Books (1980) An article about Summerhill School written by Zoë Readhead, A.S. Neill's daughter and his successor as Principal of the school can be found at JournalArticle.aspx?cpid=74
Rayner, E. with Joyce,A., Rose,J., Twyman, M., & Clulow, C. (2005, 4th edition) Human Development : An introduction to the Psychodynamics of Growth, Maturity and Ageing London Routledge
Redl, F. (1966) When We deal with Children New York The Free Press Fritz Redl suggested that the most significant therapeutic opportunity for child care workers was the use of informal events in the daily lives of the children they look after, rather than scheduled, formal sessions. He called this working in the 'life space'. He called the interaction which took place between the child and worker the Life Space Interview. This was a concept introduced to me in the early 1980s by Haydn Davies Jones at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Since then I have always found it a useful as a working model for framing residential child care.
Roth, T. (1999, Director) Film : The War Zone UK
Rose, M. (1990) Healing Hurt Minds : The Peper Harrow Experience London Tavistock/Routledge This is an account and explanation of the therapeutic community approach to the care of children and young people but it is significant because it deals with the problems this approach has for the caring staff. For me it is also a book about the experience of all adolescents.
Serraillier, I. (1956) The Silver Sword London Jonathon Cape A wonderful story of the companionship, courage and tenacity of children who have had 'good enough' early nurture.
Sharpe,C., Daniel,E., Degregorio,S., Kenny, J., & Vishnja,A.(eds). (2008) Love Is Enough : Sincerity and professionalism in the care and education of children and young people Totnes Abbeyhill Press
Sharpe, C.(2006) 'Residential child care and the pyshodynamic approach ; is it time to try again ?' in Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care Vol.5 no.1 See also 'In Care, In Therapy?' at www.goodenoughcaring.com/WritingsArticle.aspx?cpid=31
Smith, M. (2009) Rethinking Residential Child Care : Positive perspectives Bristol : Policy Press A review of this book can be found at www.goodenoughcaring.com/JournalArticle.aspx?cpid=102 An article by Mark Smith 'Loving and Fearful Relationships' can be found at www.goodenoughcaring.com/JournalArticle.aspx?cpid=52
Stern, D. (1985) The Interpersonal World of the Infant : A View from Psychoanalysis and Developmental Psychology London Karnac Books 2005
Stevens, I., & Milligan, I. (2006) Residential Child Care : Collaborative Practice London Sage
Stevenson, R.L. (1886) Kidnapped London Cassell and Company
Suttie, I.D. (1935) The Origins of Love and Hate London Kegan Paul Many of Suttie's ideas in this constructive criticism of Freudian theory anticipate and to an extent pre-date the work of Bowlby and Winnicott. In my view he is an original thinker who should still be read. Copies of this book can be bought in second hand book shops usually in a 1960 Pelican edition.
Twain, M. (1884) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn London Penguin Books 2006
Vargas, F. (2005, Director) Film : El Violin Mexico Set 'somewhere' in Central America this is not just another film about the struggle ofthe poor against an oppressive state. It portrays the relationships between a child, his father and his grandfather in a place where cruelty, fear, violence and death are never far away. The film left me feeling that people who love and care about other people do, even in most desperate circumstances, rise above the menace and the evil.
Waddell, M., (1998) Inside Lives : Psychoanalysis and the Growth of Personality London Karnac (Revised edition, 2002) This book with its accessible jargon free psychoanalytic account of the development of our emotional lives from conception to adulthood is of interest to for parents and caregivers. For any student of adolescence it is - in my view - essential reading.
Waddell, M..(1985) 'Living in Two Different Worlds : Psychodynamic Theory and Social Work Practice' in Free Associations Vol. 10 Accessed online at http://www.human-nature.com/process-press/journals In this paper Margot Waddell suggests that while social workers seem impelled to be seen to be 'doing' something for their clients, therapeutic carers allow their clients time to reflect on their lives. It is sometimes just as important to 'be' as it is to 'do'.
Ward,A., Kasinski, K., Pooley,J., & Worthington, A. (eds). (2003) Therapeutic Communities for Children and Young People London Jessica Kingsley
Ward,A., & McMahon, L. (eds)(1998)Intuition is Not Enough : Matching Learning With Practice in Therapeutic Child Care London Routledge
Whittaker,D., Archer, L., and Hicks, L. (1998) Working in Children's Homes : Challenges and Complexities Chichester Wiley
Whitwell,J. (2000) 'Therapeutic Child Care' in Re-framing Children's Services (ed. White,K.) London NCVCCO (2002) Accessed at http://www.charterhousegroup.org.uk/article In my view this essay should be required reading for everyone working in residential child care. I found the section dealing with the significance of relationships particularly helpful on matters which I felt I had on reflection wrongly taken for granted.
Winnicott, D.W. (1971) Playing and Reality London Routledge 2005
Winnicott, D.W. (1977) The Piggle : An Account of the Psychoanalytic Treatment of a Little Girl London Penguin Books 1991
Young, N. (1970, composer and vocalist) 'Helpless' on Deja Vu performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. For me this song gets in touch with the wonder and awe of adolescence. Access at : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvpomu2v8jA&feature=related
Young,R.M. (1994) Mental Space London Process Press
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