Clinical research: a psychotherapeutic assessment model for siblings in care

Abstract

This paper focuses on the aspects of a qualitative research project that examines an assessment protocol for the placement of siblings in foster care and/or future adoption. A brief description of the background to the study and the research design is given. Evaluating the material from the quantitative instruments used and the psychotherapeutic assessments, the author identified two predominant themes. The first, cumulative trauma, pointed to the pervasive nature of the children's early experiences, as manifest through their presentation and play. The second, relatedness and belonging, highlighted aspects of the children's shared memories and experiences. Clinical vignettes are used to illustrate the way in which these themes related to the children's sibling relationships. The author reflects on the methodology used that allowed the complexity of the issues being studied to 'come to life'. The study noted the tendency for those caring for or working with the children to underestimate the children's meaning to each other and emphasised the importance of assessing the children's perspectives where decisions are being made in childcare cases. Further questions were raised as to whether more could be done to mediate or facilitate sibling relationships for children who have suffered early deprivation or abuse, and the need for further research into this area of work was proposed.Keywords Sibling relationships; foster care; assessment; psychotherapeutic research.The relationship between young siblings is distinctive in its emotional power and intimacy, its qualities of competitiveness, ambivalence, and of emotional understanding that can be used to provoke or support. On common sense grounds these qualities, and the high frequency of interaction and imitation between siblings, suggests that the relationship will be of developmental importance -both through the direct impact of siblings upon one another, and through the indirect effects of the siblings' relationships with the parents.

‘Siblings as Better Together’: Social Worker Decision Making in Cases Involving Sibling Sexual Behaviour

“…Contrary to some authors' conclusions that social workers underestimate the meaning of sibling relationships (e.g. Hindle, 2007), this current study supports Atwool's (2013) findings that their importance is recognised, and perhaps sometimes over-rated.…”

Sibling Relationships in Adoptive and Fostering Families: A Review of the International Research Literature

“…Some studies have emphasised the trauma experienced by siblings who become looked‐after and enter foster care and/or adoption. Adopting a psychotherapeutic perspective, Hindle () describes children's experiences of fear and loss in relation to sibling relationships and concluded that adults can underestimate the meaning attached to sibling relationships by children when making placement decisions. Cossar and Neil () also stress the need to address children's feelings of loss when separated from siblings.…”

“…Some concerns regarding the ability of professional practices to adequately address issues related to sibling relationships and placement decisions were evident (Hindle, ; James and others, ). Hollows and Nelson's () study of professional judgement making in relation to the placement of large sibling groups (four children or more), concluded that there needs to be a move away from the application of universal answers applied to sibling placement decisions in the name of equality and based on an ideal of the ‘least detrimental alternative’.…”

A Modified Strange Situation Procedure for Use in Assessing Sibling Relationships and their Attachment to Carers

“…While splitting up siblings was a question in the majority of cases, their antecedent and current circumstances varied considerably. In only one case did the outcome of this procedure point to separating children who were living together (Martin and Callum, above) and in general we have tended to find more positives in sibling relationships than the foster carers who had or were looking after the children did, a finding similar to that reported by Hindle (2007). This mismatch in perception raises the crucial issue of the extent to which the time in the video suite represents what really goes on at home.…”