Purpose of the intervention

Eve, aged 13 years, was placed for adoption three years ago with her half sibling Simon, aged 11 years. Her parents have become increasingly concerned about Eve's unpredictable mood swings. She is verbally and physically abusive and recently there has been a pattern of running away. Eve is a white British girl placed in a family who reflect her racial and cultural origins. The family contacted their local social services department and together they have agreed the need for work with the family and the need for direct work with Eve.

As a voluntary adoption agency we have been approached to undertake the direct work. The initial contract is to have six sessions with Eve, to help her get in touch with how she is feeling about herself in order to plan appropriate intervention. Winnicott (1984) says “the immediate purpose of communication is to get in touch with children's real selves, what they are feeling about themselves and their lives”. It was important to recognise at the outset that where Eve was the focus of concern the family did have a more systemic perspective and were motivated to engage in exploring their part in the current dynamic.

Theoretical and experiential Influences

Having read Eve's history, I thought that insights from attachment theory could illuminate some of the current concerns. John Bowlby's (1980) work highlights the central significance of attachment for healthy emotional and psychological development. Bowlby uses the concept of inner working models to describe how interactions with significant figures are internalised and carried into subsequent relationships and experiences. Knowledge and understanding of the internal representational aspects of attachment was important in connecting Eve's behaviour to her feelings and her past experiences.

Awareness not only of the roots of attachment theory in Bowlby's work, but also of the growing points in the work of Mary Main (1991) was necessary in developing a sense of hope. Much of Mary Main's work focuses on the ability to make sense of past experiences, as a factor mitigating their influence in current relationships. This is similar to Barbara Dockar-Drysdale's (1968) notion of ‘conceptualisation’ of early experiences, as a necessary stage in getting in control of them and removing some of their power.