ABSTRACT
This chapter considers how and why challenges and change might have an impact on children who are looked after or adopted in a more intense and disruptive way than for an "average" child. It describes a professional team around the child, can work together to help a child manage a transition. The chapter examines how parents identified that professionals' lack of knowledge of the specific difficulties faced by looked after and adopted children can hinder the collaborative work. Theraplay is a specific form of carer–child psychotherapy that is based on the principles of attachment and modelled on the healthy interactions between a parent and child that lead to secure attachment. Matthew's parents, Sam and Mike felt ready to adopt another child. Matthew was in need of a therapeutic intervention that would help him develop an experience that confirmed that relationships with others were enjoyable and fun.
