Pound Pup Legacy

Dr. phil. Jirina PREKOP was born in 1929 and grew up in Moravia (the former CSR). She studied philosophy, psychology and pedagogics.

In 1970, after the collapse of the Prague Spring, she took refuge in the Federal Republic of Germany. She worked at the Olgahospital in Stuttgart, mainly in the range of developmental disorders, until her retirement. Due of her interest in autism, she took over Holding Therapy from Martha Welch (USA) under the personal scientific consultation of Nobel prize winner Niko Tinbergen (Oxford). She then linked this with the systemic approach of Bert Hellinger and developed it in her own terms into a medium for renewing love in the context of family bonds. She has written numerous professional articles and books, some of which (like e.g. her bestseller The Petty Tyrant) have been translated into17 languages. Together with Bert Hellinger, she published the book If You Knew, How Much I Love You. She is the first chairwoman of a friendly society that works to foster Holding as a therapy and way of life and is the head of an international training institute for Holding therapists. Other institutes, as well as a training centre in the Czech Republic, have been founded in her name (e.g. in Mexico City).

Jirina Pekop is very engaged in travelling and gives lectures and workshops all over the world (e.g. Mexico, South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay, Belgium, Spain, Czech Republic, etc.). Here, you can find a summary concerning two different workshops held by her.

Unfortunately, she does not speak English and therefore requires an interpreter (German or Czech).
From:  "Holding therapy according to Jirina Prekop", http://www.prekop-festhalten.de/en/prekop.html

Interestingly, on the bottom of her "About" page, in parentheses, you will find the following instruction:  "(Please bring suitable clothing, a blanket and a small pillow.)"

Back in the states, we have people like Dr. Ronald S Federici, (an adoptive parent), making the following statements on adoption websites:

 
"Traumatized children may need certain types of holding therapy to contain aggressive urges, but the majority has to be done in a reconstructive family modality. The entire thought of rebirthing, which was done to Candace Newmaker, was both bizarre, psychotic on the part of the therapist, and further traumatizing to the child while she was alive and before she met a most gruesome death according to the coroner. People who practice this type of treatment are often unlicensed and untrained, but make a lot of money by enticing the most needy and desperate families."  [From:  http://www.adopting.org/adoptions/dr-ronald-s-federici.html]

Meanwhile, note what Federici recommends doing with a small pillow:

If a pillow, jacket, or towel is available, place it under the child’s face because it is very important for the child to lie face down during the therapeutic hold to prevent spitting, biting or direct eye contact. It is often overwhelming and guilt-inducing for the parents when direct eye contact occurs with the child. In order to avoid the tendency to abandon the holding time technique, make sure the child is lying face down.
   While one of you jockeys your weight over the child’s buttocks and lower legs (thus straddling the child), the other parent lies across the child’s upper torso and pins the child’s arms down by the sides of the body … — Help for the Hopeless Child (Alexandria, Virginia: author, 2nd ed., 2003), p. 112 [From:  ACT, "In His Own Words - Ronal Federici", http://childrenintherapy.org/proponents/federici.html]

Perhaps most disturbing to me is how desperate foster/adoptive parents are, and this seems to be the sort of therapy/treatment that reads best to them.

I have yet to read within any of the pages linked, any mention of brain imaging studies being taken and reviewed as part of the diagnostic-testing process done on those who require treatment.  I'll be honest, as a parent, if my child's arm looked broken, I'd like to see the x-ray that shows the damage before I decide if I'm going to lay on my child's arm (for hours at a time), or not.  You'd also have me asking questions like:  How else can this be "fixed" or "stabilized"?  and, "How long have you been doing this, because I'd like to talk with those who can tell me about their own treatment experiences".  [I know, I'm really goofy that way ....I like second opinions from many different sources.] 

Now, as luck would have it, Federici DOES have a testimonial page, which I read quickly.  [It can be found here:  http://www.drfederici.com/testimonial.htm]  I especially liked the first one... this describes "a day of thorough testing", where a "difficult and hopeless" child sits through 10 hours of testing, which included 34 tests, a diagnostic interview, and then he (Federici) reviewed seven years of reports written on this child.  A 37 page report was sent three weeks later to the parent, but it needed revision because the parent noticed a "few inaccuracies".

My point is simple... as a parent, I would what to know WHY my child was behaving a certain way, WHAT was causing it, IF there was something medical/physical causing the behavior problems, and HOW it could be fixed, helped or managed.   I would also like to see before and after cases, so my decision would be an educated one, and not one made out of sheer desperation.  If people like Federici were trained medical professionals, or affiliated with neurologists familiar with fMRI's (and other similar brain function tests/technology), I'd feel more comfortable knowing these holding theories were based on proven facts, and not trendy fashion.

After watching this video, and after reading many letters from those who have been hurt by this holding technique, I really have to wonder what's going on in the minds of people who think force and restraint will bring forth feelings of love and respect?  I especially find it concerning how adoption websites and adoptive parents have rallied around therapists who believe force will bring forth bonding.