Abstract
Objective: This thesis aims to explore the way that foster carers understand their relationships with the looked after children in their care, to support the development of secure relationships between foster carers and looked after children. In particular it looks at the way carers connect their relationships with attachment figures in their own childhood with their current relationships with foster children. It is interested in exploring ways of understanding attachment styles as revealed in narratives. Design: This is a qualitative study that uses a narrative analysis examining both what foster carers say of their relationships and the way that they tell their stories. Participants: Six foster carers, all currently receiving a service from a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Looked After and Adopted Children’s Team were interviewed. Results: Five of the six carers told stories that shed light on the way they made sense of their fostering relationships, the approach they took to fostering and the potential strengths and vulnerabilities they might bring to fostering relationships. The way the carers told their stories further illuminated something of their relational style and reflective abilities. Conclusion: The key implication of the findings is that interviews with foster carers reveal rich material with which psychologists might work therapeutically, to help increase foster carers understanding of themselves in relationships and therefore their capacity to be reflective, sensitive carers. Sensitivity and reflection are thought to be key to secure attachments both in biological and foster relationships. New secure attachments have been found to be crucial to improving the lives of looked after children.