Working with Families of African Caribbean Origin

Understanding Issues around Immigration and Attachment

Elaine Arnold

• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9781843109921
• eBook ISBN: 9780857005427
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Psychotherapy Counselling
• Index: Psychology

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.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 A Brief Historical Background of African Caribbean People
• Chapter 2 Immigration of African Caribbean People to Britain
• Chapter 3 Attachment, Separation and Loss
• Chapter 4 Narratives of African Caribbean Mothers Separated from and Reunited with their Children
• Chapter 5 Fathers in the Reconstituted Families
• Chapter 6 African Caribbean Women Reflecting on Separation in their Early Years and Reunion with their Mothers
• Chapter 7 Implications for Work with African Caribbean Families
• Appendix 1 Map of the Caribbean
• Appendix 2 Revised Separation Reunion Interview Schedule (SRIS)
• References