Narrative and Dramatic Approaches to Children's Life Story with Foster, Adoptive and Kinship Families outlines narrative and dramatic approaches to improve vulnerable family relationships. It provides a model which offers new ways for parents to practise communicating with their children and develop positive relationships.

The book focuses on the Theatre of Attachment model - a highly innovative approach which draws from a strong theoretical base to demonstrate the importance of narrative and dramatic play for sharing the children's life history in the family home with their adoptive, foster or kinship parents. An emphasis is on having fun ways to work through complex feelings and divided loyalties, so as to secure attachment. This practice model aims to raise children's self-esteem and communication skills and to combat the profound effects of abuse, neglect on trauma on children's development.

This book will be of great interest for academics, post-graduate students, universities and Training bodies, service providers and practitioners involved in social work and creative therapies, child psychologists, child psychotherapists and public and private adoption and foster care agencies.

About the Author

Joan E. Moore is a freelance and published dramatherapist, play therapist and supervisor and independent social worker, England, UK.

Reviews

"This is a significant book. It is significant because it acknowledges that therapeutic work with adopted and looked after children does not always align with psychoanalytic approaches to therapy that are often verbal, require complete privacy for the client, who is seen on their own, in a therapy room in a clinic. Those of us who have worked in this field have argued for a number of years that younger children, especially, need their adoptive or foster parents to be fully involved in the therapeutic process. We are also reminded that a child's primary language is first and foremost play based and needs to take place where and with whom they feel safest. Joan Moore balances wonderful, clear case examples with solid theoretical reasoning that allows her Theatre of Attachment approach to come to life. This is an important book for practitioners in the field and others who need to give clear and coherent therapeutic responses to traumatised children in the care system. I wholeheartedly recommend this book." - Clive Holmwood, Dramatherapist and Associate Professor, Department of Therapeutic Arts, University of Derby

"In summary this book is a compelling and multifaceted journey into a new approach of working with foster, adoptive and kinship families. I felt profoundly attuned to Moore's use of storytelling and drama with the whole family in the home setting. The Theatre of Attachment model could be of inspiration to dramatherapists willing to work with foster, adoptive and kinship families, and for play therapists willing to explore a more theatrical approach with children and families. Overall I find this book a valuable resource for deepening the understanding of how dramatic play could support adoptive families in a systemic, empathic, non judgmental, resilient process of change from trauma to trust and love."

Elisa Fontana, BAPT-ref Play Therapist, London

Book Information
ISBN 9781032083179
Author Joan E. Moore
Format Paperback
Page Count 188
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 281g