Engaging Kinship Caregivers: Managing Risk Factors in Kinship Care – A 5-Part Video Series.

“This module explores projection and transference, which are psychological terms about unconscious processes where we redirect our emotions from one person to another.”

Child protection and permanency can become a problem if their caregivers see them as an extension of the person they remind them of – their birth parent.  It is important for caregivers to recognize that the child(ren) they are caring for have a bond with their birth parents.  They are not the same as their parent and caregivers have the opportunity to give them the skills and resources to make different choices than the choices their birth parents made.

It is important for caregivers to not project onto the child(ren) they are caring for by saying things like “you are acting just like your Dad,” or “I’m not going to make the same mistakes with you that I made with your Mom.”

Children need to know that their caregivers will not be angry at them for loving their birth parent.  They need hear about what the caregiver liked about their birth parent or positive memories they have of their birth parents.  This will give the child(ren) assurance that you will love them rather than thinking the caregiver may not like them because they don’t like their birth parent.

Please watch this short video about how to recognize cues of projection and transference and triggers that might lead to projection.

Module 3:  Projection and Transference https://youtu.be/ySvdPp_uJis