Final Thoughts and Questions for Moving Forward

Abstract

AbstractThe concluding chapter summarizes some of the central themes of the book: the interconnectedness of multiple forms of ecological adversity, the complex and shifting challenges and constraints faced by parents and children, and the way in which accounts of these challenges are very often omitted from both intervention and policymaking. The problem of destructive cultural narratives which blame clients for their predicaments is described, and the shame and hopelessness that result is noted. The chapter addresses a series of potential challenges to adopting an ecological perspective such as the high cost of prevention, the political issues that often swirl around efforts to address social problems, insistence on the value of traditional interventions at the levels of the individual and the family, and the sheer enormity of fundamental causes such as poverty and racism. The chapter ends with a call to fully embrace an ecological perspective.