Therapeutic partial foster care: contribution from the attachment theory

The basic need for the child to be close to a significant adult which is posited in the attachment theory, is increased when the child is living in a traumatic family environment. Access to mentalization is restricted as long as the traumatic situation is lasting. Admitting the child in a therapeutic foster family will help him retrieve an autonomous intrapsychic organization. This therapeutic device provides a secure succession of separation and reunion periods. Fostering a child a few nights per week promotes the development of a secure attachment pattern between the parents and the child. This process triggers the representational capacities of the child. Thanks to the memorization of the space-time components of the therapeutic frame, it opens the road for working on traumatic memories. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]