Suchergebnisse

This paper combines clinical and research insights to systematically explore the experiences of infants and children through the course of repeated attachment disruptions and loss. It sets out core findings from a phenomenological study of the experience of multiply placed foster children, focussing on the experience of self that children accumulate in their journeys through long term care, as they lose, find and re-form their primary attachments. Findings point to what constitutes 'good enough' foster parenting for children with histories of traumatic attachment and loss.

AbstractResearch into the unique needs and interests of children in the light of parental separation has provided the impetus for many family law mediation practices to include children's voices in divorce mediation. This chapter describes a model of child‐inclusive practice in family law mediation (McIntosh, 1998) and its pilot implementation in two diverse Australian contexts. Encouraging findings from the first group of families to work through the model are presented, indicating both anticipated and unanticipated gains for both children and parents.

This paper sets out a series of principles for minimising the trauma of transitions experienced by children in out of home care. It is based on a child centred approach that has as its goal making transition bearable and psychologically useful for each child who must go through it, creating a space where even previous transition wounds might heal. The paper concentrates particularly on the complexities of helping children to move between foster care and permanent care placements.

This essay is a reply by the guest editor to four published comments about the July 2011 Special Issue: Attachment Theory, Separation and Divorce: Forging Coherent Understandings for Family Law. The comments capture some of the immense interest and passion generated by that issue. Questions pertaining to the structure of the issue are addressed and editorial decisions clarified. The relevant critiques are considered, and the opportunities created by the Special Issue are revisited. Unanswered questions raised about the application of attachment theory to family law matters are left as such: unanswered questions that call for careful consideration in practice and in nuanced, bipartisan research in the near future.Key Points for the Family Court Community
This essay revisits the value of the July 2011 Special Issue on attachment theory.
It considers the relevance of the Special Issue for practitioners.

In 2006, the Australian parliament introduced new family law legislation about substantively shared overnight parenting arrangements between divorced couples. Other countries and state legislatures are currently debating the merits of similar legislation. A largely unquestionable premise underpins this reform, namely that the majority of children from separated families demonstrably benefit from the ongoing, warm and available involvement of both parents, in a climate of well‐managed interparental conflict. The Australian legislation moves beyond encouragement of shared parenting in divorce cases with adequately functioning parents; it extends into grey areas which, to date, remain poorly serviced by credible research, including its application to children of all ages and to parents experiencing significant levels of ongoing conflict. Drawing on data from a longitudinal high‐conflict divorce sample, this article challenges three assumptions that underpin a legislative preference for shared parenting, that shared parenting is viable and sustainable for divorced parents in conflict, that shared care enables improved cooperation between parents, and that as a result children will be less affected by their parents' conflict. The article further explores the influence of the mediation process on the choice and durability of shared parenting arrangements.

The Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Act 2006 has brought into sharp focus the issue of shared physical care of children, post separation. In this paper, we explore new data suggesting accumulative risks for children whose care is divided between parents who lack the core relational infrastructure to support a healthy environment for shared care. Developmental background is provided, giving context to the complex dynamics at play, particularly for young children who experience divided care in a hostile climate. A discussion of the amendments shows that, rather than endorsing an assumption of shared care, the legislation supports and indeed requires professionals to engage in active consideration of the child's 'best interests' in each case. The paper outlines a tighter 'safety net' of considerations through which the 'best interests' question might be filtered. Implications for supporting separated parents to develop and maintain adequate foundations for shared care are discussed.

The Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Act 2006 has brought into sharp focus the issue of shared physical care of children, post separation. In this paper, we explore new data suggesting accumulative risks for children whose care is divided between parents who lack the core relational infrastructure to support a healthy environment for shared care. Developmental background is provided, giving context to the complex dynamics at play, particularly for young children who experience divided care in a hostile climate. A discussion of the amendments shows that, rather than endorsing an assumption of shared care, the legislation supports and indeed requires professionals to engage in active consideration of the child's 'best interests' in each case. The paper outlines a tighter 'safety net' of considerations through which the 'best interests' question might be filtered. Implications for supporting separated parents to develop and maintain adequate foundations for shared care are discussed.