ABSTRACT
I work as a systemic psychotherapist in general practice. Mark Brownfield, her GP, referred Janet to me in 2011. This chapter is written by Janet, Mark, and me, with a contribution from the agency. We describe the work we have undertaken to help Janet to find some recovery from her childhood in a residential school and in care. It has been a privilege to work with Janet, for whom it took so much courage to talk about events that had been locked inside her for so many years, and brings to light the contested notion of memory. Her account can be difficult and painful to read and the passage of years has not diluted her feelings about the past. As part of our therapy we used EMDR, which is helpful in the treatment of post-traumatic stress (Shapiro & Maxfield, 2002). Essentially, the importance of our work was the creation of a system working together to create a safe enough environment to support Janet in talking about her early traumatic experiences and their effect on her adult life. While this chapter is primarily about systemic work with an older adult whose childhood experiences blighted her adult life and that of her children, it is important to note that the context of care in the 1940s was harsh, 240professionals did not consider that children might be suffering sexual abuse and, if they did, there were no structures in place to protect them. It was not until the 1948 Children Act that things started to change, although, as we know, in some ways nothing has changed and there are adults who still feel entitled to abuse children without fear of being held accountable.
