It began back in September when I first submitted my application to the Churchill Fellowship. Fast forward to Thursday 16th May 2024 and with a nod to Sir Winston as I passed through Parliament Square, I made my way on to the Churchill Fellowship office for interview.
Through my work as a Psychological Therapist and Occupational Therapist, I have had the privilege of supporting many remarkable people who have experienced life in the 'care' system. I have always felt both shocked and saddened by the young age at which individuals in state 'care' are required to go out into the world on their own. This abrupt withdrawal of state support, is often referred to as the 'care cliff', where young people are expected to somehow transition to independence and adulthood overnight, frequently in the absence of continued and consistent attachment relationships.
In my therapeutic practice supporting individuals who have experienced developmental trauma and loss, attachment and relationship are at the core of my work. In therapy, we often explore the significance of transitions, separations and endings - moments that can profoundly impact a person's sense of stability and connection. Yet for many individuals growing up in state 'care', grief around these experiences often goes unrecognised, a form of disenfranchised grief. The loss of parental care, the breakdown of a foster placement, the sudden departure of a trusted social worker or other professional, is deeply felt but rarely acknowledged. Without societal validation, these losses cannot be openly spoken about or mourned, leaving many care-experienced individuals carrying silent, unresolved grief. In overburdened systems, there is a real risk that these subtleties of loss can be all too easily overlooked.
Which brings me to the focus of my Churchill Fellowship: 'Secure Base' not 'Care Cliff': Why attachment matters. The concept of a 'secure base' comes from attachment theory, developed by John Bowlby. It describes how a caregiver provides a stable and consistent foundation from which a child can confidently explore the world and eventually grow into independence. Could the state 'care' system better fulfill this role, shifting the focus from enforced independence to supportive interdependence? What if the many losses inherent in growing up in 'care' could be openly acknowledged and validated? What if there could be an open door rather than a cliff edge...
Transitions and endings are of course an inevitable part of life, but to ask a young person to go out into the world unsupported when they have never experienced a sense of permanency feels fundamentally wrong.
Through this Fellowship, my hope is to engender more thoughtfulness, understanding and support for young people at this critical juncture in their lives - and ultimately to advocate for a system that offers the 'secure base' they deserve.
