〈生活の場に居続けられる〉 : 児童生活臨床における養育実践の成り立ち

臨床実践の現象学研究会

In this study, I attempt to understand the practice of fostering through a phenomenological qualitative analysis of a narrative delivered by a caregiver working in a residential child care facility in Japan. The caregiver I interviewed, a male in his 40s, had experienced a significant bodily transformation when he started working with irritable children. As his original senses began to disappear, he instead started to obtain the capacity to “stay in the life-space” with the children. However, even after enduring the aggressive behavior of the children, he was unable to communicate with them since they had penetrated his self-defensiveness and lack of commitment. Only when the caregiver defenselessly faced the children head-on did he happen to notice his genuine affection toward them and begin communicating with them by expressing it. The frequency of bodily metaphors in the narrative focusing on the communication suggests that the communication was a matter of “body in phantasy,” or Phantasieleib. I argue with reference to the phenomenological discussion of Yasuhiko Murakami on human healing that there is a multilayer of “holding” which enables the caregiver to communicate. Since it is no easy task also for children to “stay in the life-space,” it is important that the caregiver helps them to recall their genuine inclination to overcome their difficulties, consequently allowing them to keep staying in that space. As such, the caregiver’s defenseless communication can be said to facilitate the children’s subjectifications. The narrative of this caregiver in the residential child-care facility shows that, in his fostering practice, life-space is the place where those who are there are to be subjectified as long as they stay in that space and are able to communicate with each other. The caregiver thus performs as a companion who aims to “stay in the life-space” with children.