ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author describes an aspect of her individual work with Matthew in a Child and Family Consultation Service. She demonstrates the way in which the relatively structured nature of educational psychotherapy, with its emphasis on indirect exploration of experience and on the task, was a particularly helpful intervention for this child. Matthew’s “family” drawing depicted a sofa with a row of identical heads, seen from behind, watching a blank television set. Studies on the distinctive features of family drawings relating to patterns of attachment, suggest that it is typical of an avoidant child to draw his family showing little relation to each other or individuality. When Matthew drew a picture of himself, his body was in profile, as if attempting to escape notice. His facial portrait was minimalist—although chilling in what it unwittingly revealed.
