Political rhetoric and media reports following the August 2011 London riots in the UK drew attention to poor parenting to explain the cause of the riots, thus, a parent‐blaming discourse emerged. This article presents findings from a PhD thesis about how London parents and families constructed the riots and relevant clinical implications. A separate paper focuses on the method and findings from the PhD thesis with an aim to include parent and family perspectives on the riots in the academic literature. A Foucauldian‐informed thematic analysis indicated that social exclusion, gentrification, criminality, parenting, morality and neighbourhood were relevant to the 2011 London riots from interviews with parents and families. This article aims to support clinical work with parents and families, especially as clinicians were positioned as useful in supporting such groups, through the Troubled Families Programme following the London riots. Clinical implications were developed from themes about socio‐political issues and parent‐blaming discourses and the notion of positioning, as influenced by the Foucauldian‐informed analysis adopted.
Practitioner points
Consider the relevance of socio‐political issues and parent‐blaming discourses to the August 2011 London riots.
Use ‘social context’ questions to explore socio‐political issues when conducting therapy.
Use ‘parenting expectations’ questions to explore possible parent‐blaming discourses when conducting therapy.
Consider the ways in which clients may be positioned within their relationships.
This article presents findings from interviews with London parents and families, to explore their perspective of the August 2011 London riots in the UK. This article is based on a doctorate thesis where the researcher adopted a critical position on constructions of parent‐blaming within political rhetoric. A separate paper (forthcoming) presents clinical implications developed from the research findings. The research was influenced by systemic and narrative therapy approaches. Nine parents and three young people, from five families across three London boroughs, were interviewed together to explore how they constructed the riots. A Foucauldian‐informed thematic analysis identified themes of inequality and exclusion, rioting as a criminal threat, youth as problematic, parenting and morality, and reclaiming normality. These themes highlighted discourses of crime, punishment, parenting and youth, the relevance of socio‐political factors, parent‐blaming and community resources within parent and family constructions of the 2011 London riots.
Practitioner points
Support inclusion of the perspective of parents and families in academic literature, clinical discussion and debates on the 2011 London riots
Highlight discourses of crime, punishment, parenting and youth from parent and family constructions of the 2011 London riots
This article reflects on concerns about service contexts where there may be few opportunities for children and young people to explore their understanding of autism. A three-step therapy activity is presented which attempts to address this need.
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