Integrating Narrative Family Therapy in an Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Program: A Case Study

Abstract

Adolescent mental health is a significant societal concern in the United States. Diagnosable mental health disorders have been reported at rates of 10-20 % among children and adolescents and this does not include adolescents experiencing personal and interpersonal distress not meeting diagnostic criteria. Adolescents who do not respond to traditional mental health services are often placed in residential treatment centers or other out-of-home treatment programs. Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare (OBH) is growing as a viable treatment option for adolescents who struggle with emotional, behavioral or substance related problems; however, questions have been raised about how to integrate the family into an OBH treatment setting. This article describes a case study illustrating how techniques from Narrative Family Therapy can be used to accomplish this integration, and offers a view of using Narrative Family Therapy to further involve families in the treatment and post-treatment process in an OBH program.

ACE: Three Adventure-Based Activities to Improve Family Communication

“…A primary struggle for family counselors is involving the family in the treatment process (DeMille & Montgomery, 2016). ACE provides a set of three activities illustrating how counselors can integrate activities with family theory.…”

“…A basic premise of family systems theory on the whole is greater than the sum of its parts (DeMille & Montgomery, 2016). Family counseling is specifically designed to improve the functioning and health of a family.…”

“…Family counseling is specifically designed to improve the functioning and health of a family. DeMille & Montgomery (2016) noted that creative approaches to providing family counseling have the capacity to enhance family function and health and increase productive communication. Learning how to express feelings using an “I statement” is a common technique.…”

“…Burg (2001) identified the lack of identified research in ABC. Identified are authors who document the efficacy of their programs through participant narrative (Bandoroff, 2003; DeMille & Montgomery, 2016). Norton et al (2019) explored the efficacy of adventure-based interventions with families affected by abuse and neglect.…”

Analysis of cognition structure of student’s having emotional, behavioral and learning difficulties: aspect of international experience

“…Research based on the theoretical issues of narrative therapy states that the person is the person and the problem is the problem (O'Connor, 2014;DeMille & Montgomery, 2016). In narrative therapy, we distinguish the problem from the person, believing that the problem is produced and reproduced inside a social and cultural context and that the person may choose between the problematic story and other alternative stories in his/her life.…”