Welcome to the February 2021 issue of The Bridge, click on the front cover to download the issue as a pdf or read the individual February 2021 articles online.
This issue of The Bridge includes several articles which focus on child and adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapy. This therapy aims to help young people, their families, or their support networks to better understand each young person’s emotions, behaviour, and relationships, and to explore how difficulties might be better managed. Although psychoanalytic theory and practice has been developed and modernised for over a century, this therapy has been mostly used for adults and less is known about its use with children and adolescents.
In The Bridge this month, Professor Nick Midgley discusses the evidence on psychotherapy for children and young people. He highlights that while the current evidence base is limited, the quantity and quality of research is improving, which will helpfully inform future clinical practice. Additionally, Nick Waggett reviews policy relevant to child and adolescent psychotherapy research and practice. It’s crucial that policy is based on best evidence, so that resources are used efficiently to best help the population. Also in this issue, Rachel Abedi summarises a case study of psychoanalytic psychotherapy with a young person which considered cross-cultural influences on the therapeutic relationship. In-depth single case studies are commonly used in psychoanalytic research, and while findings may not generalise to other young people, they help us understand individual experiences and may inform the development of theories and hypotheses for future work. Finally, to provide further insight into the work of child and adolescent psychotherapists, Claire Hopkins reflects on the challenges and benefits of her work in schools supporting parents and teachers. These articles were organised in collaboration with the Association of Child Psychotherapists, a professional body which sets standards and regulates training and practice for child and adolescent psychotherapists in the UK.
In this issue of The Bridge, we also bring you several other articles which summarise the latest child and adolescent mental health research relevant for clinical practice, which was recently published in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (JCPP) and Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH).
I hope you enjoy this issue of The Bridge!
Articles from the February 2021 edition
The importance of acknowledging difference in psychoanalytic psychotherapy
Reflections on working psychotherapeutically in schools
Psychodynamic therapy with children and young people – where’s the evidence?
The policy context for research into child and adolescent psychotherapy
Can we prevent psychosis in high-risk adolescents?
Child soldiers exposed to more violence and combat are at greater risk of mental health problems
‘Cool Little Kids’ helps reduce later anxiety symptoms but not broader internalising problems
Preterm infants have social cognition deficits which improve in childhood
