Dealing with the impact of separation in the context of a therapeutic intervention called Special Time

ABSTRACT This paper describes a therapeutic intervention called ‘Special Time’ which is meant to give the possibility to teachers, nurses and other related professions, to offer total attention for 45 min to a child or an adolescent. There are some elements in common with child psychotherapy such as the use of a box with toys and other play materials for the allocated ‘time’ and the worker uses observational skills, notes her own feelings and emotions and writes an account of what happened for discussion in a group or individually with a supervisor. The worker in Special Time does not make transference interpretations but is helped to think about the possible meaning of interactions in supervision. The theoretical base is psychoanalytic, with an emphasis on containment and observation. The paper introduces the origins and potential aims of Special Time and one of its applications offered to street children in Mexico. Particular attention is given to the crucial issue of loss and separation for these children and young people.