European Approaches to the Treatment of Behavior Disordered Children

Abstract

In Western Europe a variety of approaches have evolved in the therapeutic education of behavior disordered children and youth. Some of the remediation models are intrinsically European; others have been influenced by American theory and experimentation. Examples of the different treatment strategies are the National Center for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in Norway, the Heimgarten residential school in Switzerland, the Fritz-Ganzberg-Strasse day school in West Germany, the Alfred Binet Center in France, the Drevviken Youth Home in Sweden, and the Aabaek folk high school in Denmark. The professional preparation of teachers and child-care workers is often of high quality. The Europeans have some mental health concerns that are generally overlooked in the United States, and they also tend to have positive attitudes towards the troubled child and good coordination of educational and social services.