ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the assumption that every human being is all the time growing and developing, according to the hereditary growth factors and according to the stage the individual is at in the progression from absolute dependence through relative dependence towards independence. Social workers have been carrying the burden of the practice of child psychiatry all these years, and it is to social work that we must look for an extension of psychiatric practice to cover all types of case and to engage in preventive work. The child begins to collect evidence that when things are awful they can be put right, that someone is concerned. This is life, and if this is the way a child’s life can be described, then we can think in terms of health. It is important to recognize the not-good-enough environment as quickly as possible so that time is not wasted on giving psychotherapy when what is needed is specialized child care.
