By Thérèse Woodcock

This morning I wish to explore with you Margaret Lowenfeld‘s view of psychotherapy, particularly psychotherapy with children.
As always I want to start from personal experience, yours, mine and others.
1. Pen and paper: Start with the number 4 we have all heard it said that 2 and 2 makes 4, think of as many ways as you can to arrive at that number. (Go around and write on board)
Now, when it comes to being face to face with a child, it is a somewhat similar situation. That is, you may have some general principles of development and health as you have about mathematical calculations, but you have as yet to discover how this child has come to be in your presence now. Because, for the child, growing up is like being asked to get to 4 (here, I am simplifying hugely) – and as we have just seen in our little exercise, the child has many choices.