A Home Within is an organization in San Francisco that provides open-ended, relationship-based therapy for children and youth in foster care; their motto is, 'One child. One therapist. For as long as it takes.' The model has now spread to 24 states. In this book, Heineman, executive director and founder of A Home Within, presents the rationale for the relationship-based approach. Therapists using the approach offer nine chapter-length case studies, plus three chapters on long-term consultation groups that support clinicians. A concluding chapter outlines elements of relationship-based therapy.

Book News, Inc.

This book is a must read for all professionals, legislators, and policy makers working to improve outcomes for children and youth in foster care. It makes the compelling case for the importance of relational based therapy in creating permanence for foster children in a system that, while well-meaning, continues through its fragmentation, diminished resources, mandates, and bureaucratic structures to engage in a parallel process that can further traumatize youth. Promising evidence-based practices should heed the call this book so eloquently makes for the model of A Home Within.

Bill Bettencourt, The Center for the Study of Social Policy

This book represents an invaluable contribution to the field and to those of us working clinically in the context of the welfare system from a psychodynamic perspective. Through beautifully written narratives and rigorous theoretical integration, this volume challenges the reader to become aware of the need for an extensive reconsideration of the way in which we formulate and intervene clinically with traumatized children and youth. The authors accomplish this task by using the lens of the child’s perspective and placing the clinical experience in the context of the multiple systems supporting the child in a manner that only thoughtful and experienced clinicians can. This book will be of value not only to both experienced and beginning clinicians interested in working with this population but also to all other professionals in allied fields who seek to give a voice to the experience of these young people.

Norka T. Malberg, PsyD, Yale Child Study Center

Treating Trauma: Relationship-Based Psychotherapy with Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults is a compelling collection of therapists’ perspectives on how engaged therapeutic relationships can serve as a bridge to self-understanding, trust of others, and healthier lifelong relationships for children, adolescents and young adults who have experienced the trauma of child abuse, neglect and foster care. This collection deepens our understanding of the impact of trauma on personality development. This book also informs mental health and child welfare practitioners who encourage and facilitate positive life transitions from foster care.

Gary Stangler, Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative