Everyone experiences stress and needs extra help at times. Often this involves informal support, but in certain circumstances, help comes in the form of therapy. Sometimes there is a negative impression about "needing" therapy. But when the going gets tough, sometimes the tough go to therapy. With a wide range of factors working against them,…

"Caring communities" is a great sounding line, but what does it really mean? There are many ways that communities which present themselves as caring make life easier or worse for those who live there. For centuries in Germany, there have been religious groups who claim to care for each member. By definition, this is circumscribed caring…

Emphasis on neuropsychiatric frameworks of conceptualizing troubled youth is increasing. This focus leads to more biologically-based interventions. As such, the use of psychotropic medications is skyrocketing, while the utilization of psychosocial strategies is diminishing. Yet overall outcomes seem to be faltering. Admissions to outpatient,…

Historically there has been a huge gulf between families and residential programs serving their children. This contradicted classic studies showing that family involvement is the cornerstone for successful outcomes with children in out-of-home care. But in spite of frequent early calls for such inclusion, the family was historically considered to…

In creating Project Re-ED, Nicholas Hobbs (1913-1983) embarked on a bold new approach to emotionally troubled children and youth. Re-ED, an acronym for the Re-education of Emotionally Disturbed Children, builds on positive concepts of normalcy and health rather than deviance and illness. Hobbs had been impressed by the "educateur" of Europe and…

Emotional pain which manifests itself in problem behaviours is, for many children and youth, a part of their everyday struggle through life. Kids growing up in residential care or in a dysfunctional family or setting suffer this pain. Connecting with kids in pain, the primary task for youth workers, is made all the more difficult, the greater the…

Charles Hall Youth Services (CHYS), a residential foster-care provider in Bismarck, North Dakota, desired to move from an adult-centered, punitive program model to a strength-based model with an emphasis on teaching critical life skills and behaviors to young clients. Through a partnership with the Teel Institute of Kansas City, Missouri, the…

By examining specific examples of how teachers at an adolescent treatment centre interpret the day to day challenges that shape the lives of their students, insights can be gained about how schools can effectively re-connect even the most difficult students to a school environment. This article describes a story about an adolescent treatment…

Reflecting on his early days in youth work, Dr. Henry Maier discusses his days on the front lines at Pioneer House as a young colleague of Fritz Redl and David Wineman. Pioneer House, in Detroit Michigan, was a home for boys that provided a treatment approach to behavior problems. (BF)

There has been widespread concern of the death of children and adults during physical restraint. This topic was the focus of an article by Patterson, Leadbetter, and McComish (2000) in a recent issue of the "Journal of Safe Management of Disruptive and Assaultive Behavior." Following is a discussion of causes and risk factors related to…