ABSTRACT
The majority of the fathers that the author have worked with in the context of the family court have been men who also suffered from mental and emotional disorders that, in turn, could be considered through the lens of anxious and disorganised attachment. Family court work evolved within a legal framework that, under the 1989 Children Act, gave primacy to human rights in the best interests of the child. This meant that both parents had to consider a future working relationship on behalf of a child that is within a higher order framework of a national protective concern in relation to children as developing and dependent beings. Within the constraints of work undertaken for the family courts, working on changing violent behaviour is primarily regarded by fathers as a route to holding on to, or getting back to, their children. Ongoing disturbance in a parent, formerly expressed in violent behaviour, will not necessarily dissipate.
