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Termination as a therapeutic intervention when treating children who have experienced multiple losses
Author(s) -
Many Michele M.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
infant mental health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1097-0355
pISSN - 0163-9641
DOI - 10.1002/imhj.20201
Subject(s) - intervention (counseling) , psychodynamics , psychology , population , psychotherapist , primary caregiver , developmental psychology , medicine , psychiatry , environmental health
Children who have endured traumatizing events often have a history of prior disruptions and losses which also have been experienced as traumatic. Termination of therapy with these children, therefore, provides a unique opportunity for the clinician to provide the traumatized child and his or her caregiver with a new experience of loss; one that is controlled, predictable, and paced. Through this experience, the child and caregiver can develop a new model for loss, one that permits for losses that are a natural part of healthy growth and change. This article outlines one approach to utilizing termination as an integral component of the therapeutic process with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers and their caregivers. Using a psychodynamic model and working dyadically with the child and the caregiver, termination is approached as a primary intervention, pivotal to the successful treatment of this vulnerable population.