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Welcome from the editor

I found myself cogitating on the topic of assessment recently. You see, some parentsÌýhad spent an hour giving me an intelligent, insightful report about their child duringÌýan initial phone call. And for a whole evening I actually believed it. MaybeÌý it was theÌýfabulous trifle I’d just eaten, or their knowledgeable vocabulary, or even my respectÌýfor the people who’d recommended them to me. Perhaps even my incompetence.ÌýBut pretty soon, my writer’s instincts clicked in and I did a rethink.Ìý Let me explain why.

When you start writing a story for children, best practice is to start at a point called in media res – which means where the crisis or action is happening. SomewhereÌýinteresting. Something that grabs the reader. Now, that is the very point in real lifeÌýat which parents phone up in desperation. Something has happened and becomeÌýsuch an issue that they simply have to take notice. They then ring us for help. ButÌýwhat they tell us is not the whole story, only a snapshot in time: the immediate crisis,Ìýthe why now? Running with that particular story would have been short-sighted ofÌýme and I’m glad I realised my error and quickly regained the sanity to think further.ÌýI was then able to backtrack as usual and find where it all started (as you wouldÌýlater on in a novel) and what else was going on in their wider family and environment,Ìýthen and now. Only after this could we move forward wisely.Ìý

You see, if we don’t do this thoughtful questioning and listening before anÌýintervention kicks in, we risk doing counselling that at best wastes everyone’s timeÌýand at worst drags the profession into disrepute. Both of which would be unethicalÌýand disrespectful to client and parents. So I was delighted to interview Ruth SchmidtÌýNeven about her new book, and hear her views on the need for a thorough assessmentÌýbefore any therapy starts, as part of the therapeutic communication with the family.ÌýI hope some of what she says will resonate with all of us. For myself next time, well, I’llÌýjust remember to leave the sherry out of the trifle if I’m going to speak with a parent!

One strange thing about being editor is that I commission the pieces for each issueÌýseparately, for all kinds of specific reasons, and then discover that the disparateÌýauthors mention similar ideas in passing. It’s as if, as a community, we have solidÌýagreement about many aspects of our work – which is encouraging to see. We mayÌýyet reach accord on what constitutes essential training for working with young people.ÌýMost of you will not have the opportunity or privilege, as I do, of reading everythingÌýat least five times over, but I hope you will still enjoy the varied, thought-provokingÌýor practical articles we have here, and let me know if there is a particular topic youÌýwould like to read about, or contribute to, in CCYP.

Finally, if it’s still before 24 December deadline when you read this, and you wouldÌýlike to be part of an initiative to get Developmental Trauma Disorder into the upcomingÌýDSM V, please do visit www.traumacenter.org for details of how to fill in he anonymousÌýsurvey. The request comes from Bessel van der Kolk and his colleagues, and, sinceÌýyoung people’s therapists are in the thick of it dealing with trauma stemming fromÌýdevelopmental deficits, it seems appropriate to mention it here. If DTD is to becomeÌýa useful diagnosis, clinician data is needed from everywhere, not just America. It’s aÌýhistoric opportunity, in that sense, and feels a bit in media res in the history ofÌýunderstanding children and their needs.

Eleanor Patrick
Editor

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