ABSTRACT
If a child has a defence of being hard and tough like Bipley, it means that he also often shuts out the possibility of help. The messages he gives out of ‘I don’t need you’, or ‘I don’t need’ are often so strong that people just accept them at face value. Thus the walls around his heart can end up more like a prison than a mode of self-protection. Some people may persevere with such children for a while, in the hope that the walls will melt, but the majority will eventually leave for a ‘warmer climate’ – metaphorically speaking.
