Reflective Interpersonal Therapy for Children and Parents

Disruptive and aggressive behaviour in children causes significant distress to everyone involved. Tradition interventions tend to focus on changing the disruptive behaviour itself, but research shows that it is important to also focus on the underlying anxiety, anger and vulnerability that may have contributed to the child’s conduct. In this innovative book, Hermione Roff introduces Reflective Interpersonal Therapy for Children and Parents (RICAP), a new intervention that looks at the processes underpinning disruptive and aggressive behaviour problems. RICAP was developed specifically to meet the needs of children and their families, and offers a new way to think about and tackle conduct disorders. The intervention explores the relationship between anxiety and anger, the dynamics of threat and fear, and the behavioural interactions within a prime relationship. Taking a practitioner-oriented approach, Roff introduces the theory underpinning RICAP, the evidence base for the approach and how it can be put to work in clinical practice.

About the author. List of illustrations. Acknowledgements. An old Jewish tale. Mind that child! Chapter 1: RICAP: A description of the intervention Chapter 2: RICAP and aggression: Sometimes it helps to be bad. Chapter 3: RICAP and reflection: Are these children mindless? Chapter 4: RICAP and attachment: fighting to feel safe. Chapter 5: RICAP and avoidance: A useful defence or a habitual ploy? Chapter 6: RICAP and emotions: Why does everything have to be reduced to anger? Chapter 7: RICAP and memory: What I remember tells me who I am. Chapter 8: RICAP and problem-solving: Do solutions matter? Chapter 9: RICAP and metaphor: The use and usefulness of metaphor. Chapter 10: Marc: A case study. Appendices. References. Index.Â