Child-in-Family Therapy to Heal a Traumatically Bereaved 10-Year-Old Boy in Grandparental Kinship Care: A Case Study

Abstract

This study explores the utility of an innovative therapeutic modality for the intra-familial treatment of children who have experienced traumatic loss. A case study is presented of the application of child-in-family therapy (CIFT) with a 10-year-old boy orphaned in political violence and experiencing severe externalizing and acting-out behaviors in grandparental kinship care. CIFT is conceptualized within the context of social and family support for those coping with trauma and loss. The study underscores the phenomenon of family caregiving, and of grandparents raising grandchildren. It highlights the complexities of kinship care when caregivers are experiencing a parallel process of recovery from traumatic loss. The possibility for posttraumatic growth among grandparental caregivers is raised. The limitations and contraindications of CIFT are considered, as well as the implications of study findings for clinical social work practice with children who have undergone traumatic loss, social policy, and ongoing research.