Bram Soenen

Reflections of Caretakers on the Process of Implementation of Life Space Crisis Intervention at a Therapeutic Centre for Youngsters with Emotional and Behavioural Disorders

AbstractLife space crisis intervention (LSCI) is a therapeutic and verbal strategy used to intervene when children are in crisis. It has its roots in the work of Aichorn, Redl, Wineman and Bettelheim, and is part of the milieu-therapeutic tradition. In 2000, LSCI was introduced at the Orthopedagogical Observation and Treatment Centre, a school and day unit for 60 children with emotional and behavioural disorders affiliated with the Department of Orthopedagogy at Ghent University (Belgium). The particular position of orientation towards ‘therapeutic environments’ in the department’s history has encouraged the integration of LSCI in the daily activities of the departments’ school (Broekaert et al., Int J Ther Communities 30(2):122–145, 2009). In 2003, LSCI was implemented and studied in several Flemish Institutes. Positive effects were found on school results, attendance in the classroom and number of conflicts. In this article, the reflections of the caretakers are taken into account. Analyses of these reflections resulted in 4 major themes: content of job and tasks, the youth in the centre, working with the youth in the centre, and cooperation with colleagues and other teams. The results of this analysis will be discussed.

Anxiety in youth in Flemish care: a multi-informant study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the prevalence of anxiety in youngsters with emotional and behavioral disorders, and its relation to other problems, using different informants. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected in a Flemish treatment center. Educators completed a Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for each child, teachers completed a Teacher Report Form (TRF), and youth themselves completed a Youth Self Report (YSR) and a Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED). Findings – Analyses indicated an explicit presence of anxiety. A clear relation was found between anxiety symptoms and internalizing problem behavior on the YSR, whereas only a slight relationship was found with the CBCL, and practically no relationship was found with the TRF. Only few correlations between anxiety and externalizing problems were found. Finally, youth themselves indicated strong correlations between anxiety and thought problems, whereas educators indicated strong correlations...