1. Coral Tree April 07 The dance of accommodation and expectations Working in the zone of proximal development with troubled and troubling children Peter Krabman Medical Director Coral Tree Family Service April 2007

2. Coral Tree April 07 The prize: promoting a positive developmental trajectory Minimising the extent to which the problem gets in the way of the developmental tasks of childhood and adolescence Minimising vicious circles of intrapsychic/school/family decompensation/ alienation or enmeshment Minimising risks of harm: peer & educational disruption/ misadventure/ delinquency & drugs/ suicide/ STD’s/ pregnancy/

3. Coral Tree April 07 Working in the zone Opportunities and challenges of the school environment The relational context of learning and development The zone of proximal development –Channelling –Facilitating –Scaffolding –Prosthetics –Protection

4. Coral Tree April 07 Working in the zone The “dance” of –accommodation and expectation –support and resilience-building –empathy and problem-solving –validation and idealisation Unconditional positive regard Building and maintaining hope

5. Coral Tree April 07 The dance…

6. Coral Tree April 07 The dance… Reflective functioning: learning from the past Emotion coaching (John Gottman): 1.Become aware of child’s emotion 2.Recognise the emotion as an opportunity for intimacy & teaching 3.Listen empathically, validating the child’s feelings 4.Help the child find words to label the emotion they are having 5.Set limits whilst exploring strategies to solve the problem at hand

7. Coral Tree April 07 The dance… Working with “won’t” Stages of change Motivational interviewing –Express empathy –Develop discrepancy –Avoid argument –Roll with resistance –Support self-efficacy (in the legal/ ethical context of dealing with adolescents & their families)

8. Coral Tree April 07 Questions and discussion