URL this page at http://freespace.virgin.net/nick.child/index.htm or through <www.forallthat.com> Feedback to nick.child@virgin.net
The name - 'forallthat' - is a reference to Robert Burns' poem 'A Man's a Man for A' That' which is about seeing through appearances to the human beneath. That is what demystification is about too. The core theme of this website is that the demystification of the helping professions emphasises instead ordinary good practice, or systemic practice, that best gives and gets clients and workers their humanity and life - "life" as in the phrase "get a life"!
Forallthat has been conceived and coordinated by Nick Child. There are five sections to the website: Demystification . . . . Systemic Practice Network . . . . Nick's Work . . . . CFC Motherwell . . . . Nick Child's Play.
Nick lives in Edinburgh. He was a child and family psychiatrist in the Child and Family Clinic, Motherwell for 22 years. Retired in 2003, he now spreads his time between family therapy, salsa, internet work, house, friends and family. His life's theme has been demystification. This website carries a wide range of his and other people's writings and material on that theme. He aims to write a book as well - title: "Life Is Not An Illness"! Demystification should liberate ordinary good practice, positive living and fun! So there is a lot about those here too.
Launched at the Connections in Practice conference in Stirling in March 2000, Forallthat's material is mainly Nick's own work. Nick's keynote speech there was on The Potential of Systemic Practice, a demystification of family therapy into good practice for social work. But 'forallthat' is intended to be for other people's stuff too. Other material from that event is here, linked through the Systemic Practice Network page. Click links to other internet sites of relevance to demystification. The consumer's perspective should meet and marry Forallthat's aims, or else the whole point of the exercise would be missing.
Recently family therapists themselves have done the impossible and written detailed manuals of the method in a way that needs no demystifying. Short cut this website and go direct to Leeds Family Therapy & Research Team website if you want to download for free a full, close up, "manual" account of what is both good ordinary systemic practice and of specialist Systemic Family Therapy (SFT). But please email where invited to feedback to them what you do with it.
Nick's "retirement" has been too busy for more than slow development of Forallthat. After a long gap it has been reviewed and added to most recently in April 2007. But it's always worth browsing - go to The Complete Index or go to the sub-sections: Nick's Work , link to all kinds of things the Motherwell CFC team developed to guide and illustrate the functioning of a successful demystified Child and Adolescent Mental Health service (which may become out of date now that Nick's retired), keep watching for developments by joining the Systemic Practice Network you will be on the email list and will be updated), and also amuse yourself with Nick Child's Play! Finally send in to nick.child@virgin.net your own suggestions, ideas, links and material.
Two papers that people commonly want to read are: Family Therapy: The Rest of the Picture and Deficient Attention and Disordered Activity: Child Psychiatry's Response to ADHD
nick.child@virgin.net