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9.
Attendances - Town Hall Annexe 1,904
Manor Park 1,652
Treatment given -
Patients
Treatments
Sunlight - local and general
89
721
Remedial exercises
472
3,173
Electrical and massage
86
656
Child Guidance Clinic
Miss R. Dettmer B.A., Acting Educational Psychologist in charge of the
Clinic, submits the following observations:-
"The Clinic staff now consists of two full-time Educational Psychologists,
two full-time Psychiatric Social Workers, two Consultant Psychiatrists who each
attend two sessions weekly, a part-time Child Psycho-therapist who attends six
sessions weekly, a full-time Shorthand-typist'and a full-time Clerk-receptlonlst.
Mr. F. A. Spooncer, B. Sc., Assistant Educational Psychologist, Joined the
staff on 14.7.68. Miss R. Dettmer, B.A. was appointed temporarily as Acting
Senior Educational Psychologist on 24.11.58 in the absence of Mrs. J.F. Stevens
who is on special leave. Miss D.J. Livingston, B.A., M.S., Psychiatric Social
Worker, was appointed a temporary member of staff on 27.10.58. Mr. E. Winter,
Child Psycho-therapist who was attending for two sessions weekly resigned on
18.12.58, and he was replaced on 30.12.58 by Miss L.H. Shroeder , Ph.D., who
attends' for six sessions weekly. Although there have been a number of staff
changes, having a full complement of staff has meant that the waiting list has
been effectively reduced, and parents and children are seen for initial interviews
almost as soon as they are referred.
All members of the clinic team participate in the initial diagnostic assessment
of each clinic case. A complete history is taken by the Psychiatric
Social Worker, individual intelligence, educational, and personality tests are
administered by the Educational Psychologist, and both parents and child are
usually seen by the Consultant Psychiatrist. Some children and their parents
may then be referred for intensive psychotherapy; the child may be seen several
times weekly by the Child Psycho-therapist, with parents coming along for interviews
with the Psychiatric Social Worker at the same time. In other cases less
frequent visits to the clinic may be recommended. in all cases under treatment
clinic staff maintain liaison with school and community health and welfare
agencies who are also concerned with the individual family.
A small number of children are seen individually at weekly intervals by the
educational psychologists for remedial work in the basic school subjects, chiefly
reading. A few very severely retarded readers have been discovered among secondary
school pupils, and since these are pupils who may soon be leaving school,
the problem is urgent. We hope to undertake a survey some time in the future
to determine the actual numbers of older children requiring this kind of help.
The work of a community Child Guidance Clinic should ideally be mainly
preventive in nature. Since the number of actual cases which it can help
directly is necessarily small, Its larger function as a mental health agency
participating actively in community education and liaison with other community
services should be as Important as the clinical services It offers. We hope
that the growing acceptance of and interest in child guidance facilities in East
Ham will continue, and that we may be able to contribute effectively to the lessening
of the anxiety, mystery and Ignorance which still surrounds problems
associated with mental health."