Introduction

This introduction chapter presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the beginnings of A Home Within, an organization created to meet the emotional needs of foster youth. It focuses on the therapeutic process, when it works and when it doesn't, including clinical work with children who have suffered emotional, physical, or sexual abuse yet remained with their family of origin. The book focusses on the psychological meanings and constructs that emerge from life that includes trauma, whether from abuse or the chronic loss that marks life in foster care. It includes clinical material that illustrates the protective nature of functional families, in contrast to the personal and systemic consequences of relationships that harm or fail to protect children. The book finally articulates the basic tenets of Relationship-Based Therapy, an approach that have articulated with ever-expanding understanding of the unique requirements of therapists working in and around the foster care system.