Deborah Plummer on Imagework and Helping Children to Cope with Change, Stress and Anxiety

“When a child comes up with an image that represents how he feels about a situation, he is tapping into something that goes way beyond logical thought processes. And when he realises that he can ‘play’ with these images and be creative in forming new images, then he can begin to take more control. Imagework often triggers insights and shifts in perspective which may not come through logical thinking alone.”

Chris Taylor on Caring for Children and Teenagers with Attachment Difficulties

“Our attachment history affects us all, and children who have had sub-optimal early care are likely to be anxiously attached and to carry this anxiety as a self-fulfilling prophecy into other relationships, developing behavioural coping mechanisms that may make them difficult to care for. If the caregiver is also frightening, the child cannot organize their coping strategy in a coherent way. Such a child presents a huge challenge to be adequately cared for. Understanding attachment allows professionals charged with this task to unpack the child’s adjustment and work out ways of responding to the child that answers their attachment need and switches of the child’s self-defeating behaviours.”