Psychoanalytic contributions to the monitoring of foster families: A literature review

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to highlight some collaborations that psychoanalytic literature offers for the issue of foster family for children and adolescents. Taking as a starting point the conceptualization of family according to the theories of John Bowlby and Winnicott and their description of the infantile psychism and attachment. Foster family is seen as a qualified alternative to institutionalization, so that psychological monitoring is necessary during this period. Psychoanalysis brings several advances in the area of the reconstruction of the family psyche with the arrival of a new member. We also observe the work of interpreting the individual fantasies of each member of the family about what it means to temporarily foster a child or adolescent and then be able to establish the role and significance of the new family in the life of the recent member and vice versa.