Social Work and Child Psychoanalysis: Where the Twain Shall Meet

This essay explores the ways in which social work theory can contribute to the theory and practice of child psychoanalysis. Both clinical social work and child psychoanalysis borrow from psychoanalytic theory for explanations of motivation, development, and technique. The fundamental premises of social work theory, including a psychosocial perspective, the centrality of relationship as a medium of change, a commitment to social justice, and the importance of “starting where the person is,” inform the therapist’s stance and open the therapeutic space to include a wide range of ways of using the therapeutic relationship and the therapeutic experience. Integrating these principles into clinical practice theory offers a way to understand this range of ways of using therapeutic experience. Highlights of some of the practice literature are surveyed. Two case examples illustrate the value of social work theory in understanding therapeutic process.