Articles

Why a Therapeutic Community Approach to Residential Child Care?

Authors

  • Damien McLellan Carlow College

Keywords:

residential child care, therapeutic community approach

Abstract

This paper is based on a plenary presentation I made to the 'Where is Home?' Conference in Malta, 12-14 March, 2009. The presentation was a spontaneous commentary on ten slides shown to the participants who were all professionals concerned with residential child care. The slides were intended to give the Conference an indication of the road ahead, should they decide to journey in the direction of a therapeutic community approach to residential child care. I am a consultant psychotherapist to several child care centres in Ireland that work from a therapeutic community approach and the residential centres in Malta had expressed an interest in this work. I have since written up these un-scripted comments and added my thinking on the controversial subject of the use of punishment and sanctions in residential child care.

Author Biography

Damien McLellan, Carlow College

Damien McLellan, M.Phil., MSc. Counselling and Psychotherapy, MIAHIP, first trained in residential child care at the North London Polytechnic and later at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne. He was Director of Reinden Wood House Therapeutic Community in the UK (1969/81) and managed Prospect House Child Care Centre in Waterford City (1986/95). He also trained in consultancy and community mental health at the Tavistock Clinic, London and subsequently qualified as a psychotherapist in Ireland. As well as teaching at Carlow College, where he leads the MA in Therapeutic Child Care Course, Damien works as a child care consultant and consultant psychotherapist to several child care centres in Ireland, including the Don Bosco organisation. He continues to do direct work with very troubled children and supports children in foster care.

IJCFW 2010 3-4

Published

2010-12-01

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 3-4 (2010)

Section

Articles