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Welcome from the editor

Respond to every call that excites your spirit,’Ìýwrote Persian poet Rumi.¹ It’s now ‘enpixellated’Ìýin the corner of my screen. I guess all of usÌýreading this have had our spirits excited – inÌýthe passionate/on-fire sense – to respond toÌýthe difficulties and traumas that young people experience.

And we probably often need to remind ourselves of thatÌýoriginal call in the face of – and in spite of – the poor on-the-groundÌýsituation we now find ourselves in. It’s easy to despairÌýat how things are going officially (child poverty, childrenÌýwanting to kill themselves, young people told to exaggerateÌýsymptoms to get help, Green Papers about training staffÌýinstead of funding school counsellors, service cuts and closures,Ìýyou name it). But looking over this super-highÌý fence with aÌýperiscope, I believe we could take back an element of controlÌýover our passion to help, and keep it burning. There are pointersÌýin these pages that can help us grasp opportunities and moveÌýthings forward for children – despite.

Jeanine Connor’s lead article on sexually fetishisticÌýbehaviour may seem uncomfortable or even intent on startlingÌý(depending on your viewpoint). But we can choose to read withÌýa desire to extend our skills and help a wider range of youngÌýpeople – without it costing our funders a penny. Stretching ourÌýknowledge muscles carefully and ethically keeps the flame alive.Ìý

Again, why include music therapy? Hans ChristianÌýAnderson² coined the frequently misquoted phrase, when wordsÌýfail, sounds can often speak. Well, in broad terms, Adrian SnellÌýuses sounds when words won’t work. Having a box ofÌý instrumentsÌýin our rooms allows a child to express feelings by making sounds,Ìýnotes, rhythms, tunes – and us to join with them, the soundsÌýcreating a non-verbal conversation. Yes, Adrian is highly skilledÌýand officially trained – but even limited to a small ‘no specificÌýtraining’ scenario, there is a take-home clue here about anotherÌýway in which we can help young people heal. Integrating a newÌýtool carefully and ethically keeps the flame alive.

Beverley Costa encourages us to invite the use of a client’sÌýown language in sessions to further facilitate process andÌýhealing. Linda Hafez invited a Cruse Bereavement CareÌýcounsellor into school to share their expertise in co-leadingÌýgroupwork – with financial saving and pupil benefit. And SueÌýBarr and colleagues show us how they bring in parents andÌýfamily effectively, where appropriate. Extending the sphereÌýof our work carefully and ethically keeps the flame alive.

But perhaps, alongside this, we do need to remind ourselvesÌýexactly why young people are having such a hard time. SomeÌýissues are age-old, of course. Just being a dependent child or anÌýindependence-seeking adolescent is enough to start a sparringÌýmatch in the home. But other issues have a more 21st-centuryÌýflavour to them as traditional society rips itself to shreds. AndÌýone of the root causes seems to lie in ACEs – those ‘adverseÌýchildhood experiences’ that leave their poison, like nerve gas,Ìýin the system long after the event(s).

Professor Mark Bellis, of Public Health Wales, reminds usÌýthat we can retake control of the effectiveness of our work inÌýyet another way – by asking about ACEs: ‘There’s a strongÌýargument for informed assessment by trained professionalsÌýto ask about ACEs, identify those at risk, and intervene whereÌýchildren may already be victims of abuse, neglect or living inÌýadverse childhood environments.’³ How many times have weÌýworked seemingly in vain, and only then got to the root issue?ÌýHow many times has a child backtracked after a supposedlyÌýsuccessful therapy, because issues weren’t healed at source?ÌýAsking questions about ACEs specifically and sensitively isÌýanother skill – but using our skills carefully and ethically isÌýwhat we do. And we can also think about branching out toÌýshare our skills beneficially in other professional contexts,Ìýwhen occasion arises, as Zoe Nangeh encourages.

If we’re to continue responding to every call that excites ourÌýspirits without losing hope, we need to take Alison Smyth’s adviceÌý(in her last supervision column for us) and model holding the hope.ÌýNot only for our supervisees, and our supervisees for their youngÌýclients, but also for ourselves, via support, encouragement andÌýnetworking. Each child who comes our way is the echo of thatÌýinitial call that excited us, and in the present socio-economicÌýclimate, we cannot risk it fading to a distant memory.

Eleanor Patrick
Editor

References

1 Barks C (Trans). The essential Rumi.ÌýLondon: HarperOne; 2004.
2 Anderson HC. What the moon saw andÌýother tales. London: Routledge; 1866.
3 www.communitypractitioner.co.uk/opinion/2017/07/adverse-childhood-experiencesÌý(accessed 15 April 2018).

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