Creating a Safe Place

Reviews / Votes

The book provides a comprehensive approach to treatment, balancing compassion with structure and theories with practical guidance. -- Child and Families, City of Edinburgh Council Not an easy read, Creating a Safer Place is however, an accessible and intelligent book for all practitioners of whatever discipline who may deal with child abuse in their work. It may also be of interest to younger people, parents and carers looking for support for them-selves and/or their children. It should also be essential reading for policy makers. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. -- Young Minds Magazines This book is clearly written, making it accessible for a wide range of professionals and service users. Specialist projects like this one deserve to influence policy and the allocation of resources. -- Community Care This book is written by a group of colleagues from the National Children's Home Childcare and Families Project who work with children, families and young people using a person-centred approach. This is a highly practical book and those counsellors considering offering a service similar to that of NCH would find it extremely useful. -- Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal At best, therapeutic services for sexually abused children and their families are in short supply and often restricted to short-term intervention. At worst they can be misattuned to the needs of traumatised children and their carers. Alternatives often rely on small specialist project highlights the reparative value of post-protection therapy. The team draws on person-centred and trauma frameworks to inform creative approaches such as art-work, drama, storytelling and poetry. Their work is predicated on the provision of a safe therapeutic space and on trust in the capacity of individual children and adults to mobilise their inner strength. Case examples and material contributed by service users illustrate how, in a supportive environment, lives fragmented by trauma can become more whole. The book is clearly written and easily readable, making it accessible for a wide range of professionals and for service users. Specialist projects like this one deserve to influence policy and the allocation of resources. Securing resources might make organisations less fearful of addressing the plight of silenced children. Meanwhile, this book will benefit policy makers, managers engaged in project design, practitioners and service users wishing to address post-protection issues. -- Sue Richardson, Psychotherapist The book is impressive for its use of individuals' own accounts and for stressing the importance of the notion of trust within therapeutic relationships. There are also plenty of practical tips on how to create a trusting environment. -- Journal of Social Work