Family Involvement in Residential Treatment: Staff, Parent, and Adolescent Perspectives

Abstract

We conducted interviews with staff members, parents, and adolescents at a residential treatment center to examine the frequency, nature, and satisfaction with contact between parents and adolescents and parents and staff. We also assessed perceived barriers to family involvement and possible solutions for improving this involvement. Results indicated that there is more contact between parents and adolescents than in previous studies. In addition, contact between parents and staff occurred frequently, although there were discrepancies regarding their reasons for the contact. Most parents and adolescents reported that the amount of contact was adequate, but the majority of staff members perceived there to be not enough contact. Adolescents reported that there was not enough contact with secondary sources of support, most often other family members. Barriers to family involvement included transportation, parent responsibilities and personal problems, and legal issues. In addition, parents reported that strained family relationships and problematic adolescent behavior interfered with their involvement. The need for residential treatment centers to broaden services to include parents as well as members of the larger support network is discussed.

Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare: Its Impact on Family Functioning

“…These differences would logically impact family functioning differently; hence future research is needed to look in more depth at how family is used and how different types of family engagement impact both family functioning as well as youth mental health improvements. In fact, strong working alliances between parents and clinicians may be key to long term maintenance of change for youth (Harper et al, 2007) and engaging the family while youth are in out of home care is significantly related to increased positive long term outcomes for youth (Nickerson, Brooks, Colby, Rickert, & Salamone, 2006). Hence, not only understanding OBH's engagement with family but finding ways to intentionally bolster this alliance and make the family a larger focus in OBH programs could be crucial for promoting lasting change in youth participants and their families (Tucker, Widmer, Faddis, Randolph, & Gass, in press).…”

In, out and after care: Young adults' views on their lives, as children, in a therapeutic residential establishment

“…The literature on process within TCHs is concentrated around three discrete but overlapping themes: how TCHs operate overall (Rivard, Bloom, McCorkle and Abramovitz, 2005;Scott and Lorenc, 2007); individual organisational aspects, such as the quality of the therapeutic provision (Egelund and Jakobsen, 2009;Pavkov, Negash, Lourie and Hug, 2010); and the experience of stakeholders, chief among whom are staff (Davidson-Arad, Dekel and Wozner, 2004;Nickerson, Brooks, Colby, Rickert and Salamone, 2006), family members (Demmitt and Joanning, 1998;Springer and Stahmann, 1998) and the children themselves (Grupper and Mero-Jaffe, 2008). …”

Assessments of Student–Teacher Relationships in Residential Treatment Center Schools

“…As a result, they generally have significant socioemotional and behavioral problems (Gauthier, Fortin, & Jeliu, 2004). For example, adolescents in these programs typically have substantial interpersonal and relationship problems and exhibit many high-risk behaviors, including self-harm, aggression toward others, and significant property damage (Kalke et al, 2007;Nickerson, Brooks, Colby, Rickert, & Salamone, 2006). In addition, students with poor social and emotional development often suffer academically due to multiple stressors such as disruptions in schooling and ongoing home-life instability (Zins, Bloodworth, Weissberg, & Walberg, 2007).…”