Lending the ears: listening to children in institutional care

Abstract

Working in a host institution is complex and contradictory and it might give rise to great anxiety. This study aims to investigate how professionals of host institutions undertake the process of listening to the child. Grounded in psychoanalysis, it is a collective case study: ten professionals responded to an interview based on the showing of a picture from the Children’s Apperception Test (CAT), followed by a semi-structured interview. The respondents expressed ambivalence over their professional performance, notably in activities that demand greater closeness and affective engagement. It was found that the respondents had been engaged in active listening, which had led them to feelings of sadness, pain, helplessness, insecurity, as well as doubts and a sense of unpreparedness in face of the accounts. It is recommended that professionals be given continuing education, encouragement to practice active listening, and the resources necessary in order to pursue such goals, both for the benefit of the child and the well-being of those who work in this field.