What developments can be seen in a year’s intensive psychotherapy with a ten year old adopted boy with Mild Learning Difficulties

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The following retrospective single case study aimed at looking at what developments could be seen in a year’s intensive (three times a week) child psychotherapy, within a specialist CAMHS community team, with a ten year old adopted boy with mild learning disabilities who had a history of neglect and trauma until the age of six. It demonstrated that short term intensive child psychotherapy provided a solid foundation for on-going therapy. The referred symptoms included nightmares of being re-claimed by an abusive carer which were eradicated and other behavioural change occurred during treatment the adopted parents thought was not possible. Thematic analysis identified three main themes; ‘multiple families in mind’, ‘things going missing/out of one’s mind’ and ‘problems with sequencing’ which led to concluding ideas that included the central importance of truth and mourning. The themes and concluding ideas relate and expand those described and illustrated within case study material in the existing body of literature on child psychotherapy with looked-after children. The study highlights the value of child psychotherapy for looked-after and adopted children in its ability to facilitate the communication and understanding of the looked-after and adopted child for the child and the family. It demonstrated the value of the single case study. Key words: short term intensive child psychotherapy, looked-after and adopted child, neglect, learning disabilities, single case study, thematic analysis, loss, truth.