Working with Families of African Caribbean Origin: Understanding Issues around Immigration and Attachment

by Elaine Arnold, Gill Gorell Barnes (Foreword by)

Overview

Many of those who emigrated from the Caribbean to the UK after World War II left behind partners and children, causing the break-up of families who were often not reunited for several years.

In this book, Elaine Arnold examines the psychological impact that immigration had on these families, in particular with relation to attachment issues. She demonstrates that the disruption caused by separation from both family and country often had long-term traumatic consequences. The book draws on two studies carried out by the author in 1975 and 2001. In the first, she interviewed mothers who had emigrated without their children, and in the second, children (now adults) who had been left behind and were later reunited with their parents.

This insightful book will assist all those working with people of African Caribbean origin in the UK to better understand their experiences and the impact that separation and loss has had on their lives. It is essential reading for social workers, counsellors, therapists and any other professionals working with families of African Caribbean origin.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780857005427
Publisher:	Kingsley, Jessica Publishers
Publication date:	09/15/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Elaine Arnold is Director of The Separation and Reunion Forum, UK, an organization dedicated to highlighting the traumatic effects of broken attachments, separation and loss. Elaine has previously worked as a teacher, lecturer, child care worker, counsellor and psychiatric social worker. Her interest in attachment issues and separation was first sparked in the late 1940s when teaching in a school in a children’s home in Trinidad and Tobago, which housed children for a number of reasons including the emigration of parents.
Elaine Arnold is Director of The Separation and Reunion Forum, UK, an organization dedicated to highlighting the traumatic effects of broken attachments, separation and loss. Elaine has previously worked as a teacher, lecturer, child care worker, counsellor and psychiatric social worker. Her interest in attachment issues and separation was first sparked in the late 1940s when teaching in a school in a children's home in Trinidad and Tobago, which housed children for a number of reasons including the emigration of parents.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements. Foreword by Gill Gorell-Barnes. Introduction. 1. Historical Background of African Caribbean Life. 2. African Caribbean Families’ Immigration to Britain. 3. Attachment Theory, Separation and Loss. 4. Narratives of African Caribbean Mothers Separated and Reunited with their Children. 5. Mothers and Children Reflecting on Relationships with Fathers. 6. African Caribbean Women Reflecting on Separation in Early Years and Reunion with Mothers. 7. Implication for Work with African Caribbean Families and Others who Experience Separation and Loss. References. Index.