Professional Documents
Culture Documents
empathising with the parent and helping them empathise with their child.
Professor David Shemmings is chair of social work at the University of Kent FURTHER READING Baron-Cohen, S (2011) Zero Degrees of Freedom: A new theory of human cruelty, Penguin Books, Allen Lane. Shemmings, D. & Shemmings, Y. (2011) Understanding Disorganised Attachment: Theory and Practice for Working with Children and Families, Jessica Kingsley Press. McCrory, E., De Brito, S. A. & Viding, E. (2010) Research Review: The neurobiology and genetics of maltreatment and adversity, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, no. doi: 10.1111/j.14697610.2010.02271.x (accessed online, February 2010) Forrester, D., Kershaw, S., Moss, H., & Hughes, L. (2007). Communication skills in child protection: how do social workers talk to parents? Child and Family Social Work, 13(1), 41-51. Forrester, D., McCambridge, J., Waissbein, C., & Rollnick, S. (2008). How do child and family social workers talk to parents about child welfare concerns? Child Abuse Review, 17(1), 23-35. Juffer, F., BakermansKranenburg, M., & Van IJzendoorn, M., (2008). Promoting Positive Parenting, And AttachmentBased Intervention. New York: Taylor & Francis Group.
children
Brain research shows that mistreatment can damage brain development but also that emphatetic professional engagement can help reverse the damage.
then watch the short films back together and the worker will speak for the child, but only about positive exchanges between parent and child. For example a mother might be playing with her son and she snaps her hand like a crocodile. The child laughs. At that point in the tape the worker might say: I loved that mummy. You made me laugh. You made me happy. This helps the parent see that their child needs them, something they often fail to recognise. But the medium for the change is not that of teaching or showing the parent what to do. It consists almost entirely of
FURTHER INFORMATION
Title Guide to the importance of communication in social work Author Jim Walker, psychotherapist and independent social worker
Visit www.ccinform.co.uk or call Kim Poupart on 0208 652 4848 to find out more about inform
COM_031111_016 017 17
27/10/11 16:59:52