Measures of Effective Psychological Care Strategies Used with Looked-After Children and Youths

Abstract

This paper provides a framework for ascertaining the effectiveness of psychological interventions when working with looked-after children in institutions of care. The paper is derived from a review of various studies in the area of psychological care for looked-after youths and children in different contexts around the globe. The review revealed that the effectiveness of psychological interventions may be ascertained by the presence of the following signs in looked-after youth and children: self-awareness, self-regulation, self-motivation and sense of mastery. Therefore, caregivers and institutions need to develop a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of their psychological intervention programmes. Although this paper is based on a review of literature, it contributes towards establishment of effective strategies for evaluating the effectiveness of their psychological intervention programmes given to youths and children in institutional contexts. Most importantly, such a study may identify bottlenecks that hinder optimum rehabilitation and development of youths in care. This will be achieved through finding out the extent to which the provision of psychosocial support services impacts on development of personal competencies, i.e. resilience which is key in maintaining a normal personality. A balanced personality is important because it will help the looked-after children to grow and develop normally a prerequisite for achieving full human functioning.