ABSTRACT
The term "parental force" was first used by Robinson in 1950 to refer to the parent-like role played by a foster agency during any period of psychiatric treatment of a child in the custody of such an agency. A child is a growing and developing being, and his emotional growth must occur in relationship to meaningful people in his life. The true objective of psychotherapy with a child is not the establishment of a permanent psychological structure, but the bringing of a child into an appropriate growth-fostering relationship with the emotional environment constituted by the important people in his life. The presence of an enduring parental force permits flexibility in treatment plans and a long-term approach to the child's problems. The role of parental force is justified by its successes and by comparison with the incomparably more expensive problems that occur so frequently, in the absence of an effective parental force.
