Work with parents of abused and neglected children

Abstract

THIS COMMUNICATION is based on the experience with 19 families whose abused or neglected children were hospitalized at the Children’s Department, Ullevaal Hospital, over a period of one year. The work with the families was limited to the duration of the child’s stay in the hospital, and did not differ in any qu~i~tive way from other parental or family coun~ling in the area of child care, preventive health services, child guidance or adult psychiatric social work. The aims were: 1) to establish a relationship with the parents; 2) to conduct a psychosocial inquiry; 3) to attain a psychosocial diagnosis of the family; 4) to decide on a plan of treatment; and 5) to motivate parents for cooperating in treatment. Before any constructive work with the family could take place, we found they had to experience a relationship characterized by sufficient trust to enable them to participate adequately in a psychosocial inquiry into the current family situation. Thereafter, through cooperation of the inte~~fession~ team, evaluation led to formulation of a family diagnosis and adoption of a treatment plan. Such a plan included a wide spectrum of measures from long-term support to such extreme and authoritative interventions as taking the child into care. An important aim also was to motivate parents to further cooperation with community resources such as kindergarten, municipal health and social centres, child guidance clinics, foster homes or children’s homes. This discussion is limited to the development of the relationship with the parents, the psychosocial inquiry, and motivation of the parents. In conclusion, the important question of the relationship and personal reactions of the team to the parents they encountered is examined.