| Abstract: | This paper illustrates some contributions of psychoanalyticallybased thinking in social work practice with children and youthremoved from their homes due to severe maltreatment or incapacityof parents. It is suggested that when working with severelydeprived and traumatized children, the therapist should holdin mind the lacking of rapport with primary caretakers, andthe need of the child to form meaningful and intimate relationsin his or her future life. Psychoanalytically based thinkingenriches the treatment process by offering new ways for understandingof the patient’s needs, aiming to reach the child’ssubjective experience and re-establishing his sense of selfand a meaningful rapport with an other. The concept of ‘potentialspace’ and the area of experience (Winnicott, 1953/1975)will be described with elaboration on its variety and use intheory and practice, focusing on two major themes: the dialecticsof knowing and not knowing, and the search for selected material.A clinical illustration is presented to show these dynamicsas they appear in the clinical process and the therapeutic session.The material was selected from supervision of graduate socialwork students involved in therapeutic work with children. |
