What does it truly take to create healing environments for our most vulnerable children? In this thought-provoking conversation with John Whitwell, former principal of the pioneering Cotswold Community and director of the UK's first therapeutic foster care program, we explore the essential ingredients of therapeutic care across different settings.
John takes us through the remarkable transformation of the Cotswold Community from a punitive approved school to a therapeutic community for emotionally unintegrated boys. With unflinching honesty, he describes the challenges of this radical shift – the resistance from staff, the initial chaos, and the years required to establish a truly therapeutic culture. Central to this success was a clear primary task that united everyone from maintenance staff to therapists: helping emotionally unintegrated children heal and grow.
The conversation delves into crucial therapeutic principles that remain relevant decades later. John explains how Barbara Docker-Drysdale's approach to understanding behaviour as communication revolutionized their work with traumatized children. Rather than focusing on controlling behaviour, staff learned to look for the communication breakdown behind acting out and to connect with children's inner worlds through symbolic play.
Perhaps most compelling is John's gardening metaphor for therapeutic care: "We're emotional gardeners creating conditions for children to grow." This perspective recognizes that growth potential exists within each child; our job is creating the right environment for that potential to flourish. It's a powerful counterpoint to outcome-focused approaches that fail to appreciate the importance of process.
Whether you work in residential care, foster care, or any setting supporting traumatized young people, John's hard-won wisdom offers valuable guidance. His reflections remind us that meaningful healing work requires aligned teams, regular consultation, ongoing training, and the patience to create conditions where growth can naturally emerge. Subscribe now to hear more conversations with pioneers in therapeutic care on the Secure Start podcast.
John’s Bio
John was formerly a UKCP registered Psychotherapist and a full member of the British Psychotherapy Foundation (BPF).
John was also the Chair of Trustees of the Gloucestershire Counselling Service and Trustee of the Planned Environment Therapy Trust and the Mulberry Bush Organisation.
Between 1985 and 1999 John was the Principal of the Cotswold Community a pioneering therapeutic community for emotionally unintegrated boys.
Thereafter, between 1999 and 2014 John was the Managing Director of Integrated Services Programme (ISP), the first therapeutic foster care programme in the UK.
I am very much interested in John’s views from working across these different types of out of home care. I hope you will enjoy our conversation too.
John's Website: https://www.johnwhitwell.co.uk/
Disclaimer
Information reported by guests of this podcast is assumed to be accurate as stated. Podcast owner Colby Pearce is not responsible for any error of facts presented by podcast guests. In addition, unless otherwise specified, opinions expressed by guests of this podcast may not reflect those of the podcast owner, Colby Pearce.
