Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Mental Health of Looked-After Children: Embodiment and Use of Space

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Play and Recreation, Health and Wellbeing

Part of the book series: Geographies of Children and Young People ((GCYP,volume 9))

  • 993 Accesses

Abstract

Much psychological language uses metaphors of space and place to conceptualize human experience. In everyday conversation, people talk about needing “space to think” or “putting some distance” between our self and someone we find difficult. In psychotherapy, much emphasis is placed on the psychic geography of the “therapeutic space,” for instance, talk about maintaining boundaries, providing containment. Psychologists and psychotherapists use topographical models to envision psychological processes – like “levels of consciousness” (the conscious and the unconscious) – and use the language of movement and distance to make sense of our relationalities. And yet, psychologists and other mental health professionals have been surprisingly resistant to theorizing the importance of space and place in children’s daily lives and its implications for their mental health and well-being. This is particularly notable in research focused on children who are looked after away from home, where work on mental health has focused very strongly on the impact of being looked after on inner experiences of mental health and well-being, individualizing and pathologizing young people’s lives, but neglecting the importance of the impact of the many experiences of physical and material displacement that young people in care have. This chapter explores how the mental health of looked-after children is conceptualized and the implications of considering the importance of space and embodiment in looked-after children’s mental health and well-being. The importance of notions of “home” and “belonging” for young people in care is considered, and the implications of these for an understanding of their well-being, as well as their experiences of distress, are explored.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 289.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Akister, J., Owens, M., & Goodyer, I. M. (2010). Leaving care and mental health: outcomes for children in out-of-home care during the transition to adulthood. Health Research Policy and Systems, 8(10), 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alderson, P., & Morrow, V. (2004). Ethics, social research and consulting with children and young people. Ilford: Barndardo’s.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alexander, J. H., Callaghan, J. E. M., Fellin, L., & Sixsmith, J. (2016). Children's corporeal agency and use of space in situations of domestic violence. In J. Horton, B. Evans, & T. Skelton (Eds.), Play, recreation, health and well being, vol 9. Singapore: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Auge, M. (1995). Non-place: Introduction to an anthropology of supermodernity. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baudrillard, J. (1998). In M. Poster (Ed.), Simulacra and simulations: Jean Baudrillard, selected writings. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhabha, H. (1994) The location of culture. London: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blower, A., et al. (2004). Mental health of “Looked after” children: A needs assessment. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 9(1), 117–129. Available at: http://ccp.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/1359104504039176. Accessed 16 Jan 2015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, S., Gregory, S., & McKie, L. (1997). “Doing Home”: Patriarchy, caring, and space. Women’s Studies International Forum, 20(3), 343–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boszormenyi-Nagy, I., & Krasner, B. (1986). Between give and take. New York: Brunner.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bridger, L. (2013). Seeing and telling households: A case for photo elicitation and graphic elicitation in qualitative research. Graduate Journal of Social Science, 10(2), 106–131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Byng‐Hall, J. (1995). Creating a secure family base: Some implications of attachment theory for family therapy. Family process, 34(1), 45–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Callaghan, J., et al. (2003). Developing new mental health services for looked after children: A focus group study. Adoption and Fostering, 27(4), 51–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callaghan, J., et al. (2004). Evaluation of a new mental health service for looked after children. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 9(1), 130–148. Available at: http://ccp.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/1359104504039177. Accessed 18 Jan 2015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callaghan, J.E.M., Young B., & Vostanis, P. (2004b). The mental health of vulnerable young people, in K. Diwedi and P. Harper (Eds.) Preventing Mental Health Problems in Children and Adolescents (217–233). Jessica Kingsley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Callaghan, J. E., Alexander, J. H., Sixsmith, J., & Fellin, L. C. (2016). Beyond “Witnessing” Children's Experiences of Coercive Control in Domestic Violence and Abuse. Journal of interpersonal violence, Advance Online Publication, 0886260515618946.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cary, L. (2003). Unhomely spaces and deviant subjectivity: The sociohistorical homelessness of female juvenile offenders. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 16(4), 587–602. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0951839032000099561. Accessed 21 Oct 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • Celinska, K., Cheng, C.-C. and Virgil, N. J. (2015), Youth and parental perspectives on the functional family therapy programme. Journal of Family Therapy, 37, 450–470. doi: 10.1111/1467-6427.12051.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coyle, D., & Pinkerton, J. (2012). Leaving care: The need to make connections. Child Care in Practice, 18(4), 297–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Department for Education (2014). Children looked after in England year ending 31 March 2014. London: HM Gov.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dixon, J. (2008). Young people leaving care: Health, well-being and outcomes. Child and Family Social Work, 13(2), 207–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dorrer, N., et al. (2010). Children and food practices in residential care: Ambivalence in the “institutional” home. Children’s Geographies, 8(3), 247–259. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14733285.2010.494863. Accessed 27 Jan 2015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dumont, R. H. (2008). Drawing a family map: An experiential tool for engaging children in family therapy. Journal of Family Therapy2, 30, 247–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emond, R., Mcintosh, I., & Punch, S. (2014). Food and Feelings in Residential Childcare. British Journal of Social Work, 44(7), 1840–1856.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford, T., et al. (2007). Psychiatric disorder among British children looked after by local authorities: Comparison with children living in private households. British Journal of Psychiatry, 190, 319–325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. New York: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gabb, J., & Singh, R. (2015). The uses of emotion maps in research and clinical practice with families and couples: Methodological innovation and critical inquiry. Family Process, 53, 67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gammer, C. (2008). The child’s voice in family therapy: A systemic perspective. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garrett, P. M. (2002). Social work and the just society: Diversity, difference and the sequestration of poverty. Journal of Social Work, 2(2), 187–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaskell, C. (2010). “If the Social Worker had Called at Least it Would Show they Cared”. Young care leaver’s perspectives on the importance of care. Children & Society, 24(2), 136–147. Available at: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1099-0860.2009.00214.x. Accessed 16 Jan 2015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goddard, J. (2000). The education of looked after children. Child and Family Social Work, 5, 79–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golding, K. S. (2010). Multi-agency and specialist working to meet the mental health needs of children in care and adopted. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 15(4), 573–587. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20923904. Accessed 16 Jan 2015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graesch, A. P. (2004). Notions of family embedded in the house. Anthropology News, 45(6), 20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greco, O. (1999). La doppia luna. Milano: Vita e Pensiero.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greco, O. (2006). Il lavoro clinico con le famiglie complesse. Il test La doppia luna nella ricerca e nella terapia. Milan: F Angeli.

    Google Scholar 

  • Green, A. E., & White, R. J. (2007). Attachment to place: Social networks, mobility and prospects of young people. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harden, J. (2000). There’s no place like home: The public/private distinction in children’s theorizing of risk and safety. Childhood, 7(1), 43–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harker, R. (2012). Children in care in England: Statistics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hedin, L., Höjer, I., & Brunnberg, E. (2011). Settling into a new home as a teenager: About establishing social bonds in different types of foster families in Sweden. Children and Youth Services Review, 33(11), 2282–2289. Available at: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0190740911002775. Accessed 22 Jan 2015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jack, G. (2008). Place matters: The significance of place attachments for children’s well-being. British Journal of Social Work, 40(3), 755–771. Available at: http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/doi/10.1093/bjsw/bcn142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jack, G. (2010). Place Matters: The Significance of Place Attachments for Children's Well-Being. British Journal of Social Work, 40(3), 755–771.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kovandžić, M., et al. (2011). Access to primary mental health care for hard-to-reach groups: From “silent suffering” to “making it work”. Social Science & Medicine (1982), 72(5), 763–772. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21272968. Accessed 16 Jan 2015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lasch, C. (1995). Haven in a heartless world. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leverett, S., & Rixon, A. (2011). Reflective spaces. In P. Foley & S. Leverett (Eds.), Children and young people’s spaces: Developing practice. Basingstoke: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luke, N., & Coyne, S. M. (2008). Fostering self-esteem: Exploring adult recollections on the influence of foster parents. Child & Family Social Work, 13(4), 402–410. Available at: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2008.00565.x. Accessed 26 Jan 2015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lutman, E., & Farmer, E. (2012). What contributes to outcomes for neglected children who are reunified with their parents ? Findings from a five-year follow-up study. 1–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mallett, S. (2004). Understanding home: A critical review of the literature. Sociological Review, 52(1), 64–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, P. Y., & Jackson, S. (2002). Educational success for children in public care: Advice from a group of high achievers. Child and Family Social Work, 7(2), 121–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, J., & Davies, K. (2009). Coming to our senses? A critical approach to sensory methodology. Qualitative Research, 9(5), 587–603. Available at: http://qrj.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/1468794109343628. Accessed 30 Jan 2015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCann, J. B., et al. (1996). Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in young people in the care system. British Medical Journal, 313, 1529–1530.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milligan, C. (2003). Location or dis-location? Towards a conceptualization of people and place in the care-giving experience. Social & Cultural Geography, 4(4), 455–470. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1464936032000137902. Accessed 21 Oct 2014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minnis, H., & Priore, C. D. (2001). Mental health services for looked after children. Adoption & Fostering Journal, 25(4), 27–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, L., & Seu, I. B. (2011). Giving children a voice: Children’s positioning in family therapy. Journal of Family Therapy, 33(3), 279–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mostwin, D. (1980). Life space approach to the study and treatment of a family. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Payne, H. (2000). The health of children in public care. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 13(4), 381–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Power, S., Whitty, G., & Youdell, D. (1995). No place to learn: Homelessness and education. London: Shelter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prout, A. (2000). Children's Participation: Control and Self-realisation in British Late Modernity. Children and Society, 14(4), 304–315.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reavey, P. (2010). Spatial markings: Memory, agency and child sexual abuse. Memory Studies, 3(4), 314–329. Available at: http://mss.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/1750698010370035. Accessed 21 Oct 2014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reavey, P., & Warner, S. (2006). New feminist stories of child sexual abuse. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rees, A., & Pithouse, A. (2008). The intimate world of strangers embodying the child in foster care. Child & Family Social Work, 13(3), 338–347. Available at: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2008.00558.x. Accessed 21 Oct 2014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson, J., & Lelliott, P. (2003). The mental health needs of looked after children. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 9, 249–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rustin, M. (2006). Where do I belong? Dilemmas for children and adolescents who have been adopted or brought up in long-term foster care. J. Kenrick, L. Caroline and L. Tollemache (Eds.), Creating New Families (107–126). London: Karnac Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, M., & Chambers, H. (2008). Promoting the health of young people leaving care. London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shotter, J. F. (1993). Becoming someone: Identity and belonging. In N. Coupland & J. F. Nussbaum (Eds.), Discourse and lifespan identity. Language and language behaviors (pp. 5–27). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shotter, J., & Gergen, K. J. (1989). Texts of identity. Newbury Park: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Social Exclusion Unit. (2003). A better education for children in care. London: HM Government.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stein, M. (2006). Research review: Young people leaving care. Child and Family Social Work, 11(3), 273–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stein, M., & Dumaret, A.-C. (2011). The mental health of young people aging out of care and entering adulthood: Exploring the evidence from England and France. Children and Youth Services Review, 33(12), 2504–2511. Available at: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0190740911003318. Accessed 13 Dec 2014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Storer, H. L., et al. (2014). In search of connection: The foster youth and caregiver relationship. Children and Youth Services Review, 42, 110–117. Available at: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0190740914001583. Accessed 22 Jan 2015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, C. (1989). Sources of the self. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thoburn, J., Robinson, J., Anderson, B. (2012). Returning children home from public care. London: National Children's Bureau.

    Google Scholar 

  • Twigg, J. (2000). Bathing – the body and community care. New York: Psychology Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wade, J. (2008). The ties that bind: Support from birth families and substitute families for young people leaving care. British Journal of Social Work, 38(1), 39–54. Available at: http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/doi/10.1093/bjsw/bcl342. Accessed 21 Oct 2014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, S., Houmøller, K., & Bernays, S. (2012). “Home, and not some house”: Young people’s sensory construction of family relationships in domestic spaces. Children’s Geographies, 10(1), 95–107. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14733285.2011.638172. Accessed 22 Jan 2015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, The University of Northampton, Northampton, UK

    Jane E. M. Callaghan

  2. School of Psychology, University of East London, London, UK

    Lisa C. Fellin

  3. Centre for Children and Youth, The University of Northampton, Northampton, UK

    Joanne H. Alexander

Authors
  1. Jane E. M. Callaghan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lisa C. Fellin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Joanne H. Alexander
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jane E. M. Callaghan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Planning, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom

    Bethan Evans

  2. Centre of Children and Youth, The University of Northampton, Northampton, United Kingdom

    John Horton

  3. Department of Geography, National University of Singapore Department of Geography, Singapore, Singapore

    Tracey Skelton

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

About this entry

Cite this entry

Callaghan, J.E.M., Fellin, L.C., Alexander, J.H. (2016). Mental Health of Looked-After Children: Embodiment and Use of Space. In: Evans, B., Horton, J., Skelton, T. (eds) Play and Recreation, Health and Wellbeing. Geographies of Children and Young People, vol 9. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4585-51-4_22

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation