The Integration of Psychotherapy and Residential Care in the Middle Phase of an Intensive Short-Term Residential Treatment Program

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper examines the variety of ways in which psychotherapy and residential care are integrated in the middle phase of an intensive short-term residential treatment program for severely disturbed adolescents. It considers shifts in the practice of psychotherapy, the use of supplementary sessions in times of crisis, and the role of informal, brief psychotherapeutic encounters in treatment. It also explores ways of introducing issues from psychotherapy into the work of the childcare staff members and coordinating the treatment process as a whole.