Consultation in schools: helping staff and pupils with unresolved loss and mourning

Putting the Pieces of the Puzzle Together: A Mentalization-Based Approach to Early Intervention in Primary Schools

“…Gilliam's finding is strongly supported by the existing literature coming from the field of child psychotherapy and educational psychology (Maltby, 2008;Malberg, 2008;Rogers, Murrel, Adams, & Wilson, 2008;Erchul & Martens, 2010), which reflects on the value of the psychodynamically informed clinician working in schools. However, the influence of such literature is often overshadowed by the wealth of publications reporting on the benefits of approaches focusing solely on single interventions, which ignore the value of working from a systemic collaborative perspective.…”

From exclusion to inclusion; supporting Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators to keep children in mainstream education: a qualitative psychoanalytic research project

“…Armstrong (2004) gives a good summary of what characterises the work of the consultants in the Tavistock Consultancy Service: they 'work below the surface' and focus on 'both what is known and consciously attended to and also what is unknown, unattended, or unconscious in the individual and/or in the group ' (2004: 3). While it is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss these ideas in full, a reference to Maltby's (2008) description of her consultancy work in schools seems relevant. After her experience of consulting, which she described as demanding and lonely, she began to make sense of what had happened in terms of her transference and countertransference experiences, I found myself increasingly focusing on what I later understood to be transference and countertransference experiences both with children and staff.…”

Offering a ‘therapeutic presence’ in schools and education settings

“…When writing about their work, they highlight the importance of observation of the organisation based on an infant observation method (Hinshelwood, 2009;Miller et al, 1989), and the application of psychoanalytic process consultation to working in and with schools (e.g. Maltby, 2008).…”

“…) The processes of teaching and learning involve complex human interactions and intense psychological experiences, for pupils and staff alike (e.g. Hinshelwood, 2009;Maltby, 2008;Salzberger-Wittenberg et al, 1983;Youell, 2006). Working within any education setting inevitably has an emotional impact on all of us, and we aim to illustrate how attempts to use this impact by attending to it, providing opportunities for sharing and learning with others, can be useful in thinking about the work.…”