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Compared with previous yeas, there was a substantial increase in the number of
patient attendances during 1951. Psychiatric interviews increased by some thirty per
cent. Although this was partly due to a greater use of group therapy, it was largely
the result of the marked reduction in the numbers of those who failed to keep appointments.
On the assumption that parents and children who felt that they were being helped
at the Child Guidance Clinic were more likely to attend regularly than those who considered
they were not deriving benefit, the improved attendance rate was encouraging support for
the general policy in operation.
The number of interviews carried out by the Educational Psychologist both within and
without the Clinic was inevitably less than that of other years when the services of a fulltime
worker was available. However, invaluable work was accomplished by the Psychologist
during the time at her disposal and she managed to meet all the most urgent demands for
psychological assessments, coaching, and school visiting. Her school visits were uniformly
successful in achieving mutual benefit to school and clinic; her coaching methods were
effective and her reports and contributions to Case Conferences were valued much. Yet as
she could not accomplish in six sessions per week a volume of work that merited ten to fifteen
sessions per week, much necessary school visiting was not done and waiting lists accumulated
for coaching and testing.
The Psychiatric Social Worker helped with the school visiting and in consequence did
fewer home visits than usual. This expedient was not found profitable and experience indicated
that In many cases a home visit by the Psychiatric Social Worker provided essential clues to the
full understanding of child problems. Consequently home visiting was given priority over
school visiting in claiming the time of the Psychiatric Social Worker.
The number of new referrals and the turnover of cases during the year showed an increase
on previous years. Children were drawn from the usual sources of referral and on an average
were seen within four weeks of referral. The waiting list which was satisfactorily low
throughout the first half of the year, grew towards the end of the period.
Cases closed before the end of treatment consisted largely of children who repeatedly
failed to keep treatment appointments. Many of them attended once only. In some instances,
closure became necessary because of failure on the part of the parents to co-operate in the
treatment and effort.
Significant among the special treatment recommendations was the increased number of
recommendations for residential treatment in schools for maladjusted children. Most of the
children in this group were severely disturbed and had failed to benefit from prolonged
treatment at the Clinic. In these cases too, the home circumstances were uniformly unfavourable
and for practical purposes irremediable.
The age of the children seen ranged from two years to sixteen years. The large
number of the under five age group was welcomed. On the whole these cases were most rewarding
in that they showed the greatest response to treatment in the shortest time.
The intellectual level of children examined throughout the year was somewhat higher
than that of previous years, and showed more approximation to the distribution of intelligence
of the general school population.
Treatment techniques of previous years - various forms of play therapy, individual
Psychotherapy and group therapy were used by the Psychiatrists according to the special
Preference of each and having regard to the needs of each individual child. Worthy of
mention in this connection, was the remarkable improvement in behaviour brought about by
treatment in three children who were so severely disturbed in their behaviour as to have
been relatively inaccessible and in whom a tentative diagnosis of child psychosis was made.
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