Psychosocial Group Work with Vulnerable Children

Maria Leticia Castrechini Fernandes Franieck, PhD, is a registered Chartered Counselling Psychologist in the UK, an i.t. Group Analyst with the Seminar für Gruppenanalyse Zürich, and a licensed Psychotherapist and Supervisor in Germany. Working with highly vulnerable populations is central to her clinical practice, and her studies were funded by the International Psychoanalytical Association.Niko Bittner is a qualified pedagogue and Gestalt therapist, as well as a systemic trainer and coach. He works in youth social work and is a seminar leader at the Odenwald Institute, Germany, where he trains conflict coaches, among other things.

“This book offers genuine clinical engagement in the context of a solid psychoanalytic framework, providing the reader with an accessible model of treatment.” – Paul Williams, psychoanalyst; author, The Fifth Principle Trilogy (Routledge)“The uniqueness of this book lies in the introduction of a fairly accessible, experiential and preventive approach to group work with vulnerable children. It looks at ways of dealing with aggression by developing object relations with others during ongoing creative play. This approach can be widely adopted by agencies working with vulnerable children worldwide. The authors' focus on the prevention of violence, rather than the treatment of violence, plays a vital role in creating a stable environment for us all.” - Roosevelt Cassorla, Training Analyst of the Brazilian Psychoanalytic Association, Sigourney Award 2017.

• Series Editor’s Foreword Foreword "Together We Are Strong!" T-WASPreface AcknowledgementsIntroductionAppendix to the introduction PART ONE Conceptual source of inspirationChapter 1. The interplay between antisocial tendencies and aggressionChapter 2. The intersection of Gestalt therapy and ontological psychoanalysisChapter 3. Running children’s groups in partnership: what does this mean?PART TWOTogether We Are Strong (T-WAS)Chapter 4. The challenges behind the scenesChapter 5. Eclectic group conductorsChapter 6. SettingChapter 7. Creative playChapter 8. Three different children’s groupsChapter 9. Direct challenges to the eclectic group conductors posed by the childrenChapter 10. Reflections on T-WAS (Together We Are Strong)