Fostering Good Relationships

'This is a beautiful book. Rich in case studies and accessible reflections on practice, it is optimistic and sobering. It speaks with eloquence about trauma and change, about hope and restoring humanity to our services for children and young people, and about how all of us who live and work with families must strive to understand the meaning of behaviour. This book inspires with how it holds children, young people and their professional and parent networks in mind but it also demands that we all reflect on whether we are really, honestly being the best that we can be with and for our future generations.'- Professor Michael Preston-Shoot, Executive Dean, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of Bedfordshire'This book is a gem - a clarion call to practice! We all know of the terrible system failures around our children in care and what needs to happen to prevent such failures in the future. Well, this book shows us how to do it. Written with compassion and based in research that listens to what children need, the co-authors advocate a systemic and fully inclusive approach to partnership work and insist that all parts of the care system need to work together. This book should be required reading for everyone involved in the care system.'- Arlene Vetere, Professor of Family Therapy and Systemic Practice, Diakonhjemmet University College, Oslo, Norway'To survive and prosper, human beings have developed exquisite strategies to adapt, learn, cooperate and communicate. For some children, they have had to adapt to the worst of possible circumstances because of abuse and neglect. With the child at the centre, this collection explores the place that systems, partnerships and relationships play in rebuilding a more hopeful future. It is a must-read at this time of major change.'- John Simmonds OBE, Director of Policy, Research and Development, CoramBAAF'All those within and between the fields of social work and systemic practice will appreciate this book. It brings together some thoughtful ways of engaging in multi-disciplinary work that creates a coherent approach to working directly with looked after children, their professional system and other interested parties that surround them. This book is very timely as it coincides with a number of serious case reviews and research papers that repeatedly highlight the need for collaborative partnership working and placing looked after children at the heart of decision making.'- Dr Barbara McKay BA (Hons), MSc, CQSW, MSc, MA, DPsych. Director of the Institute of Family Therapy'The contributors to this book show a profound understanding of the implications for all involved once a decision is made for a child to be cared for or parented outside the birth family. The book's theme of partnership also acknowledges the power differentials between different people surrounding a child who is in care or adopted. The needs of children are central to the book, and the moving clinical examples of different aspects of the work make this a very welcome book for all systemic practitioners.'- Sara Barratt, Consultant Systemic Psychotherapist and Team Manager, Fostering, Adoption and Kinship Care Team, Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust