Residential treatment of emotionally disturbed adolescents

Abstract

New York City's Bellevue Hospital. (Nichtern 1968, p. 1 ]5) The movement toward all-adolescent, wards in treatment hospitals was slow enoug~ that seven teen years 'Iat~r when Hi Iiside Hospital establ ished its girls' Pavillion in 1954, it was still consider~d. "one of the first.~' (Nichtern 1968, p. ] 31) ,hJ Oregon, as late as 1965,. none of the state hospitals had, a program for children or' adolescents. This was true even though state hospitals i~ Oregon had admitted seventy-two children under fifteen years of age in the fiscal year 1962-J963 • (Taylor 1965~ p. 79) , CHARACTERISTICS OF RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT ,There appears to be no one clear definition of what a residential treat ment center is or does although "residential treatment" is popular among child caring centers' as a self-description. Maluccio and Marlow conclude that it could generally be defined as "a total therapeutic program for children whose .' emotional probl~ms preclude treatment'in the community on an outpatient basis. " (1972, p. 232) They found that a residential treatment center generally included, the following:,. Structure or planned and controlled living. Group I iving and individuation. 'dentificati~n through opportunities for significant relationships. Child-staff interaction. Integration and ioint planning an~r evaluation of the child's treatment plan by all staf~. (Maluccio &,Marlow 1972, p. 232) &::II.