Acclaimed child psychotherapist on six decades advocating for infant mental health
Monica Lanyado
Child Psychotherapist Monica Lanyado is a prolific author and respected authority on the treatment of traumatised children. Here she draws on over 50 years of clinical practice to share her insights on how best to treat traumatised children and why maintaining hope is so important.
Monica Lanyado
For 50 years child and adolescent psychotherapist, Monica Lanyado, has been focussed on how to best treat traumatised children. Her 1985 groundbreaking paper, ‘Surviving Trauma’ marked the beginning of a flurry of publications about trauma, as the world at last began to wake up and recognise the extent of child abuse. In this interview we will hear how she believes we can best to help these children, a motivation which has fuelled much of her working life.
You could describe as a calling Monica’s quest to find how best treat severely traumatised children. Remarkably, at only 19 years of age, she started working with children who had been taken into care by social services and her working life has since been devoted to working with fostered and adopted children, either as a clinician or supervising psychotherapists who do. She trained at the Tavistock Clinic under the auspices of Mattie Harris who then ran the child psychotherapy training, alongside other notable names such as Isca Wittenberg, Isobel Menzies- Leith and Frances Tustin.
And yet after a training which primarily focussed on the theories of Melanie Klein, she began to forge her own theoretical pathway, drawing on a diverse range of psychoanalytical thinkers. After only 6 yrs following qualification, she set up a new child psychotherapy training at the Scottish Institute of Human Relations. A succession of books and papers focussing on the treatment of traumatised children have flowed over the years, including the invaluable, ‘Handbook of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy’ and most recently ‘Transforming Despair to Hope’. Monica is also a supervisor for the child psychotherapy training at the British Psychotherapy Foundation.
As anyone who has worked with traumatised children will know, this work is at times harrowing, despairing and exhausting, making demands on us that at times feel unstainable, and yet she says that when sufficient hope cannot be maintained it is not possible to carry on the work. Jane O’Rourke asked her why….
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Books
Lanyado, M and Horne A. (Eds) (1999) The Handbook of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy. Psychoanalytic Approaches. London: Routledge. Italian translation published in 2003, Czech translation published 2004. Japanese Translation.
Lanyado, M. (2004) The Presence of the Therapist: Treating Childhood Trauma London: Brunner-Routledge.
Lanyado, M. and Horne A. (Eds) (2006) A Question of Technique: Independent Psychoanalytic Approaches with Children and Adolescents Series. London:Routledge
Horne, A. and Lanyado, M. (2009) Through Assessment to Consultation: Independent Psychoanalytic Approaches with Children and Adolescents Series. London and New York: Routledge
Lanyado, M. and Horne, A. (Eds) (2009) The Handbook of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy: Psychoanalytic Approaches. Second Edition. London and New York: Roulade. Translated into Japanese 2013.
Horne, A. and Lanyado M. (Eds) (2012) Winnicott’s Children: Independent Psychoanalytic Approaches with Children and Adolescents Series Hove, East Sussex and New York: Routledge. Published in German 2016, Frankfurt a. M.: Brandes and Apsel.
Horne, A. and Lanyado, M. (eds) (2015) An Independent Mind. Collected Papers of Juliet Hopkins. London and New York: Routledge
Lanyado, M. (2018) Transforming Despair to Hope. Reflections on the Therapeutic Process with Severely Neglected and Traumatised Children. Hove, E Sussex and New York:Routledge.
Chapters in Books
Hodges J., Williams B., Andreou C., Lanyado M., Bentovim A., and Skuse D., (1997) ‘Children who sexually abuse other children’ In: Rooted Sorrows: Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Child Protection, Assessment, Therapy and Treatment . The Right Honourable Justice Wall (ed) Bristol: Family Law, Jordan Publishing: 120 – 129
Lanyado, M. and Horne, A. (1999) ‘Introduction’ 1 – 16 in Handbook of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy. Psychoanalytic Approaches. M. Lanyado and A, Horne (Eds). London: Routledge: 1-16
Lanyado, M and Horne, A. (1999) ‘The therapeutic relationship and process’ in The Handbook of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy. Psychoanalytic Approaches. M. Lanyado and A, Horne (Eds): London: Routledge: 56-72
Lanyado, M. (1999) ‘Brief psychotherapy and therapeutic consultations: how much therapy is good enough?’ in The Handbook of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy. Psychoanalytic Approaches. In M. Lanyado and A, Horne (Eds). London: Routledge: 233 – 246
Lanyado, M. (1999) ‘The treatment of traumatisation in children’ In The Handbook of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy. Psychoanalytic Approaches. M. Lanyado and A. Horne (Eds). London: Routledge: 275 – 291
Edwards J., and Lanyado, M. (1999) ‘Autism: clinical and theoretical issues’ In The Handbook of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy. Psychoanalytic Approaches. M. Lanyado and A. Horne (Eds). London: Routledge: 429 – 444
Lanyado, M. (1999) ‘It’s just an ordinary pain’: thoughts on joy and heartache in puberty and early adolescence.’ in D. Hindle and M. Smith (eds) Personality Development: A Psychoanalytic Perspective. London: Routledge pp 92 – 115
Lanyado, M. (2002) ‘Creating transitions in the lives of children suffering from ‘multiple traumatic loss’ in Lesley Caldwell (Ed.,) The Elusive Child. London:Karnac pp 93 – 112
Lanyado, M. (2003) ‘The roots of mental health: emotional development and the caring environment’ in J. Pooley, A. Ward, K. Kasinski, A. Worthington (Eds) Therapeutic Communities for Children and Young People. London: Jessica Kingsley pp 65-81
Lanyado, M. and Horne, A. (2006) ‘The Context’ in M. Lanyado and A. Horne (Eds) A Question of Technique: Independent Psychoanalytic Approaches with Children and Adolescents Series. London: Routledge: 1-9.
Lanyado, M. and Horne, A. (2006) ‘Conclusion: where Independent minds meet’ in M. Lanyado and A. Horne (Eds) A Question of Technique: Independent Psychoanalytic Approaches with Children and Adolescents Series. London: Routledge:239-238.
Lanyado, M. (2006) ‘The playful presence of the therapist: ‘antidoting’ defences in the therapy of a late adopted adolescent patient’ in M. Lanyado and A. Horne (Eds) A Question of Technique: Independent Psychoanalytic Approaches with Children and Adolescents Series. London: Routledge:130-148.
Lanyado, M. (2006) ‘Doing ‘something else’: the value of therapeutic communication when offering consultations and brief psychotherapy’ in M. Lanyado and A. Horne (Eds) A Question of Technique: Independent Psychoanalytic Approaches with Children and Adolescents Series. London: Routledge: 203-223.
Lanyado, M. (2007) ‘Speelse aanwezigheid van de therapeut: ‘tegengif’ voor de defensies van een geadopteerde adolescente in therapie‘ in Nicole Vleigen and Lieve Van Lier (Eds) Een Spel Voor Twee Spelers Leuven/Leusden: Acco
Lanyado, M. (2008) ‘Playing out not acting out: the development of the capacity to play in the therapy of children who are ‘in transition’ from fostering to adoption’. in D. Hindle and G. Shulman (Eds) The Emotional Experience of Adoption. A Psychoanalytic Perspective. London and New York: Routledge.
Lanyado, M. (2008) ‘Preface’ in E. Cleve A Big One and A Little One is Gone. London: Karnac
Horne, A. and Lanyado, M. (2009) ‘Introduction: ‘appropriate to the occasion’ in A. Horne and M. Lanyado (Eds) Through Assessment to Consultation : Independent Psychoanalytic Approaches with Children and Adolescents Series. London and New York: Routledge:1-7.
Lanyado, M. (2009) ‘The impact of listening on the listener: consultation to the helping professions who work with sexually abused young people’. in A. Horne and M. Lanyado (Eds) Through Assessment to Consultation : Independent Psychoanalytic Approaches with Children and Adolescents Series. London and New York: Routledge: 141-156.
Horne, A., and Lanyado, M. (2009) ‘Introduction’ in M. Lanyado and A. Horne (Eds) The Handbook of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy: Psychoanalytic Approaches. Second Edition. London and New York: Routledge: 1-12. Translated into Japanese 2013
Lanyado, M. and Horne, A., (2009) ‘The therapeutic setting and process’ in M. Lanyado and A. Horne (Eds) The Handbook of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy: Psychoanalytic Approaches. Second Edition. London and New York: Routledge:157-174.
Lanyado, M. (2009) ‘Brief psychotherapy and therapeutic consultations: How much therapy is ‘good-enough’ in M. Lanyado and A. Horne (Eds) The Handbook of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy: Psychoanalytic Approaches. Second Edition. London and New York: Routledge:191-205
Lanyado, M. (2009) ‘Psychotherapy with severely traumatized children and adolescents: ‘Far beyond words’. in M. Lanyado and A. Horne (Eds) The Handbook of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy: Psychoanalytic Approaches. Second Edition. London and New York: Routledge:300-315
Lanyado, M. (2010) ‘Transformation through play: Living with the traumas of the past‘ in K.V. Mortensen and L. Grunbaum (Eds) Play and Power, London: Karnac:1-20.
Horne, A. and Lanyado, M, (2012) ‘Introduction’ in A. Horne and M. Lanyado Winnicott’s Children: Independent Psychoanalytic Approaches with Children and Adolescents Series Hove, East Sussex and New York: Routledge: xxiii – xxvii. Published in German 2016, Frankfurt a. M. : Brandes and Apsel.
Lanyado, M. (2012) ‘What is therapeutic about communication?’ in A. Horne and M. Lanyado Winnicott’s Children: Independent Psychoanalytic Approaches with Children and Adolescents Series Hove, East Sussex and New York: Routledge: 25-40. Published in German 2016, Frankfurt a. M. : Brandes and Apsel.
Lanyado, M. (2012) ‘Transition and change: an exploration of the resonances between transitional phenomena and meditative states’. in A. Horne and M. Lanyado Winnicott’s Children: Independent Psychoanalytic Approaches with Children and Adolescents Series Hove, East Sussex and New York: Routledge: 123 – 139. Published in German 2016, Frankfurt a. M. : Brandes and Apsel.
Lanyado, M. (2014) ‘ The value of meditative states of mind in the therapist’ in M. Bazzano (Ed) After Mindfulness. Basingstoke, Hamps: Palgrove Macmillan
Lanyado, M. (2014) ‘The presence of the therapist’ in M. Pozzi (Ed) The Buddha and the Baby (2014) London: Karnac
Lanyado, M. (2014) ‘Foreword’ in K. Cullen, L. Bondi, J. Fewell, E. Francis, M. Ludlum (Eds) Making Spaces: Putting Psychoanalytic Thinking to Work London: Karnac
Lanyado, M. (2015) ‘Trauma and child psychotherapy: introduction’ Horne, A. and Lanyado, M. (eds) In An Independent Mind: Collected Papers of Juliet Hopkins. Independent Approaches with Children and Adolescents Series. Hove, E.Sussex and New York: Routledge:1-3.
Lanyado, M. (2015) ‘Integrating and exploring Winnicott: introduction’ In A. Horne and M. Lanyado (Eds) An Independent Mind: Collected Papers of Juliet Hopkins. Independent Approaches with Children and Adolescents Series. Hove, E.Sussex and New York: Routledge: 119-121.
Commissioned Research Report
Lanyado, M. (1997) The Influence of Early Experience of Sexual Abuse on the Formation of Sexual Preferences During Adolescence.(1997) Skuse D., Bentovim A., Hodges J., Stevenson J., Andreou C., Lanyado M., Williams B., New M., McMillan D. Behavioural Sciences Unit, Institute of Child Health, London. Commissioned by the Department of Health.
Journal Papers
Lanyado, M. (1985) ‘Surviving Trauma – dilemmas in the psychotherapy of traumatised children’. British Journal of Psychotherapy, 2(1): 55-62, and Bulletin of the British Association of Psychotherapists
Lanyado, M. (1985) ‘Divorce : a child’s eye view’ (1985) in ‘In the Best Interests of the Child?’. Report published by the Scottish Family Conciliation Service.
Lanyado, M. (1986) ‘The child in the family today – the effect of parental attitudes and problems on children’ in the report on the Scottish Children’s Panel Summer School, ‘Children in Today’s Society’
Lanyado, M. (1987) ‘Asymbolic and symbolic play: developmental perspectives in the treatment of disturbed children’ Journal of Child Psychotherapy 13(2): 33 – 44
Lanyado, M. (1988) ‘Working with anxiety in a residential special primary school’ Maladjustment and Therapeutic Education 6(1):36 – 48
Lanyado, M. (1989) ‘United we stand…..? Stress in residential work with disturbed children’. Maladjustment and Therapeutic Education 7(3):136 – 146
‘Lanyado, M. (1989) Variations on a theme of transference and counter-transference’ Journal of Child Psychotherapy 15(2): 85 – 102
Lanyado,M. (1991) ‘Putting theory into practice: working with perversion and chaos in the analytic process’ Journal of Child Psychotherapy 17(1): 25 – 40
Lanyado, M. (1991) ‘On creating a psychotherapeutic space’ Journal of Social Work Practice 5(1): 31 – 40
Lanyado, M. (1993) ‘Stress – an occupational hazard of working with disturbed children’ . Educational Therapy and Therapeutic Teaching 1(2): 23 – 38
Lanyado, M. (1994) ‘In the beginning’ – Observations of newborn babies and their families’. Journal of the British Association of Psychotherapists 26: 3 – 21
Hodges, J., Lanyado, M, Andreou, C. (1994) ‘Sexuality and violence: preliminary clinical hypotheses from the psychotherapeutic assessments in a research programme on young sexual offenders’ Journal of Child Psychotherapy 20(3): 283 – 308
Lanyado, M., Hodges, J., Bentovim, A., Andreou, C., Williams, B. (1995) ‘Understanding boys who sexually abuse other children: a clinical illustration’. Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy 9(3): 231 – 242
Lanyado, M. (1996) ‘Winnicott’s Children: the holding environment and therapeutic communication in brief and non-intensive work’. Journal of Child Psychotherapy 22(3): 423 -443
Lanyado, M. (1997) ‘Memories in the making: the experience of moving from fostering to adoption for a five year old boy’. Journal of the British Association of Psychotherapists, December :3 – 18
Skuse, D., Bentovim, A., Hodges, J., Stevenson, J., Andreou, C., Lanyado, M., New, M., Williams, B., McMillan, D., (1998) ‘Risk factors for development of sexually abusive behaviour in sexually victimised adolescent boys: cross sectional study’ British Medical Journal 317 18th July 1998.
Lanyado, M., (1999/2001) ‘Holding and letting go: some thoughts about the process of ending therapy’. Journal of Child Psychotherapy 25(3): 357-378 and Kinderanalyse 2/2001: 357 – 378
Lanyado, M., (2000) ‘Fenomeni transizionali e cambiamento psichico: Riflessioni sul ruolo del transfert e della relazione ‘attuale’ nel passagio dall affidamento all adozione.’ ( ‘Transitional phenomena and psychic change: the role of transference and the new relationship as seen in the therapy of children moving from fostering to adoption’) Richard e Piggle. Studi psicoanalitici del bambino e dell adolescente. 8(3): 283 – 293
Lanyado, M. (2001) ‘Daring to try again: the hope and pain of forming new attachments’. (2001) Therapeutic Communities 22(1): 5 – 18
Lanyado, M., (2001) ‘The symbolism of the story of Lot and his wife: the function of the ‘present relationship’ and non-interpretative aspects of the therapeutic relationship in facilitating change.’ Journal of Child Psychotherapy 27(1): 19 – 33
Lanyado, M., (2001) Letter to the Editors: ‘Transition and change: a response to commentaries on The symbolism of the story of Lot and his wife’. Journal of Child Psychotherapy 27(2): 226 – 230
Lanyado, M., (2001) Clinical Commentary – Luke. Journal of the British Association of Psychotherapists Vol 39 (1)
Lanyado, M., (2003)‘The emotional tasks of moving from fostering to adoption: transitions, attachment, separation and loss’ Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry special edition on fostering and adoption 8(3):337 – 349
Lanyado, M., (2004) ‘Psychoterapie deti v dobe prechodu z pestounske pece do adopce: technicke otazky’ Revue Psychoanalyticka Psychoterapie V1: 23-34
Lanyado, M., (2006) ‘Clinical commentary’ Journal of Child Psychotherapy 33(1): 94-107
Lanyado, M., (2008) ‘Session with Peter and discussion’ Mellanrummet Nr 18.2008.
Lanyado, M., (2008) ‘Tribute to Isabel Menzies Lyth 1917-2008’ British Journal of Psychotherapy 24(4) .
Lanyado, M., (2008) ‘Dwelling in the present moment’ An exploration of the resonances between transitional experiences and meditative states’ Psychoanalytic Perspectives 5(2):69-85
Lanyado, M., (2010) ‘Psychoterapie deti v dobe prechodu z pestounske pece do adopce’ Revue Psychoanalytcicka Psychoterapie X111: 28-41
Lanyado, M. (2014) Clinical commentary. Journal of Child Psychotherapy 40:2
Lanyado, M., (2016) ‘Transforming despair to hope in the treatment of extreme trauma: a view from the supervisor’s chair’. Journal of Child Psychotherapy 42(2): 107-121.
Lanyado, M. (2017) ‘Putting Down Roots: the significance of technical adaptations in the therapeutic process with fostered and adopted children’. Journal of Child Psychotherapy 43(2). 208-222.
Lanyado, M., (2019) ‘Repair and legacy: the ‘grandparental’ role in today’s kinship care families and beyond’ . Journal of Child Psychotherapy 45(3): 308 – 322.
Book Reviews
Lanyado, M., (1994) Review of ‘Pregnancy. The Inside Story’ by Joan Raphael-Leff ‘. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis 75(4):127 – 131
Lanyado, M., (1995) Review of Treating Survivors of Satanist Abuse, Ed Valerie Sinason. Journal of Child Psychotherapy 21(1): 127 – 131
Lanyado, M., (1995) Review of Francis Tustin. Makers of Modern Psychotherapy, by Shiela Spensley. Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy 9(3)
Lanyado, M., (1997) Review of Postpartum Depression and Child Development. Eds Lynne Murray and Peter J. Cooper Infant Observation 2(1)
Lanyado, M., (1999) Review of The Language of Winnicott. A Dictionary of Winnicott’s Use of Words, by Jan Abrams . Journal of Child Psychotherapy 25(1)
Lanyado, M., (1999) Review of A History of Child Psychoanalysis, by Claudine and Pierre Geissman. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry 4(4): 612 – 614
Lanyado, M., (2003) Review of Being Alive: Building on the Work of Anne Alvarez (Ed. Judith Edwards) YoungMinds Magazine 63 (Mar/April 2003)
Published Interviews
‘Psykoterapeutyrket – balansen mellan arbete och privatliv’ (2006) (interview about the balance of personal and professional lives of psychotherapists) interview and translation by Britta Blomberg for Mellanrummet Nr 15.2006: 97-110
‘Avslutningar – overgang och forandring’ (2010) (interview about endings in psychotherapy) interview and translation by Britta Blomberg for Mellanrummet Nr 23.2010: 93-104
Last updated: September 2020
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