In their various ways, the chapters in this book discuss the complexity immediately encountered when approaching the task of improving the lives of Looked After Children (LAC). While this task is underpinned by a section of the Children Act 1989, on making decisions that reflect the child’s best interests, it is clear that many professionals are not comfortable that they understand the feelings of children accurately enough when using them to guide planning provision. The problem here is that many adults with a duty of care do not always recognize and understand children’s experiences, feelings, and states of mind, which are the prior steps to thinking about therapeutic provision. This difficulty is partly due to the vast majority of LAC entering State care as abused, neglected, and otherwise traumatized, and partly because so very few professionals responsible for this task have been trained in the necessarily highly specialist skills. This was not, however, the case for Hamish Canham.
