Family Explorations

Summary

This chapter explores the use of family assessment as part of understanding a child’s emotional and psychological difficulties. Copley emphasizes that the child cannot always be understood separately from the family relationships and emotional patterns in which the child is developing.

The chapter considers how therapists can work with the whole family to understand different perspectives, anxieties, and patterns of interaction. Family assessment can reveal how difficulties may be communicated through relationships rather than existing solely within the identified child. The therapist therefore pays attention not only to what family members say, but also to their interactions and emotional responses during the assessment.

Overall, Family Explorations presents family assessment as an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the child within their relational context. It also shows how the assessment process itself can begin to create a space for thinking about difficulties and can help determine the most appropriate form of therapeutic intervention.