ABSTRACT

The decision to refer a child for psychological help is usually taken within the family. The cultural values of each family may determine what sort of childhood difficulties are considered serious enough to merit intervention. These values may also determine whether intervention is primarily welcomed, resented or feared. In order to seek a referral, a child’s problem must first be faced and the need for psychological help accepted; this usually means that some significant communication has taken place within the family, leading to determination to make a change, which the referral represents. It is this development in family dynamics which probably accounts for the common finding that a child’s problems have somewhat diminished between the decision to refer and the child’s arrival at the clinic. Such a remission, even if only partial and temporary, illustrates how sensitively a child’s problems can respond to changes in the family climate.