Child Abuse, Psychotherapy and the Law: Bearing the Unbearable - Softcover

Those working with families in the field of child abuse often find themselves becoming intimately involved with Family Law. Although the involvement may produce confusion and frustration in professionals untrained in the law, it may also help facilitate appropriate and effective treatment of severely disordered families. A legal framework can help those working in the mental health field and a psychotherapeutic understanding of individuals, families and groups can aid lawyers steer families more effectively and humanely through the legal process. Roger Kennedy here describes and analyses the work of the Cassel Hospital in England, an internationally renowned centre for the treatment of families with severe emotional and psychological problems whose children are at risk and have been abused. For such families, and their mental health workers, the law can be seen as offering an emergency escape route for the abused child. Through many detailed case studies, the author illustrates the work of the hospital, including in-depth psychotherapeutic work and rehabilitation with the families, the purpose of which is to avoid the finality of legal proceedings and inevitable breakup of families. The extensive experience recorded in this book illustrates the complicated issues arising from the interaction between families, the law and mental health workers. Although based in England, the work of the Cassel Hospital will be rewarding to any professional working in the field of child protection.