Displaying 1 - 10 of 12
Abstract
Background
Previous studies on effectiveness of therapeutic residential youth care (TRC) have indicated that, compared to short-term effects, long-term effects are less convincing. Moreover, there is limited evidence on how TRC achieves treatment goals: TRC remains too much of a “black box”. To gain durable treatment results we need to know more about how results are achieved, rather than investigating the achieved results itself. One of the factors associated with this process of change is the social climate within TRC institutions. Up until now, no literature…
Abstract
The nature and consequences of threat in the caregiving environment have been widely studied and discussed. The construct of psychosocial neglect, however, has received less attention. In this paper, we advance a novel framework for examining the nature and consequences of neglect, which we posit can be represented as variations along a continuum from severe psychosocial neglect to environmental enrichment. Recognizing that caregiving is multi-dimensional, we conceptualize enriching input from caregivers as falling along two dimensions. Specifically, we propose that caregivers…
Abstract
It is a challenge to write about the experiences of individuals in music therapy, while also honoring their experiences as co-participants of the process. There is also a challenge and struggle to research and write about child welfare populations as the therapist is many times the “voice” of the youth. As there is an imbalance in therapy at times, there is an imbalance in the youth’s experiences, not only in music therapy but in their everyday lives. This article is a clinical introspection to the research, theory, and practice in working with youth who have experienced foster…
This editorial introduces the Voices Special Issue on Music Therapy and Child Welfare. "We are very excited to publish this special issue that focuses on music therapy and childwelfare," say the authors. "Just over a year ago, Rebecca Fairchild approached Voices with this idea, which we whole-heartedly embraced. This is an area that has to date received too little attention in music therapy, one that has tremendous implications for equity and social justice."
Articles in this issue include:
Abstract
The majority of Chinese children placed in out-of-home care in Hong Kong come from economically disadvantaged families. These children have experienced poverty and multiple difficulties (e.g., parents' mental illness, substance abuse) in their families. The removal of children from their homes, with the social worker's intention of protecting the children's welfare, has inevitably interrupted the parent-child attachment, which may be a traumatic experience for both the children and their parents. Owing to limited family resources, the out-of-home children seldom have quality…
Abstract
Largely as a result of early adverse experiences, children and young people in care are more likely to suffer from mental health difficulties than their peers. Despite these difficulties, they tend to find it hard to seek help and engage with professional services to address their needs. In Northern Ireland, the Mind Your Health study collected data for 233 children and young people in care through phone interviews with their carers, and twenty-five of these young people were interviewed. Focus groups with professionals were also carried out. According to their…
Abstract
Increasingly, intercountry adopted children have special needs similar to children adopted from foster care in the United States. Out-of-home placement may be necessary when less restrictive services have not adequately addressed an adopted child's needs. The experiences of 19 adoptive parents who chose to place their intercountry adopted child in out-of-home care due to their child's disability were explored through qualitative interviews and family ecomaps. Themes emerging from interviews relate to adoptive parent definitions of adoption and disability, challenges identifying…
Abstract
Children under three comprise a sizable and growing proportion of foster care placements. Very young children who enter the child welfare system experience disruptions of critical attachments that are essential to this formative stage of brain development, as well as other traumatic events, leaving them at great risk for lifelong impairments. To reverse these concerning outcomes, babies who have been removed from their homes require intensive, relationship-based interventions that promote secure attachment to a primary caregiver and holistic attention the child's…
This paper discusses the style and efficacy of child preservation services for the purpose of reducing child abuse and neglect. Research found that family group services were more effected than individual services in preventing child abuse and neglect.
Abstract
Children and youth in foster care are some of the most underserved and holistically unhealthy people in our country today. Toxic stress, mental illness, environmental instability, and unrecognized or under diagnosed chronic disease are just a few issues that plague this special population of children that then grow into ill or maladapted adults with higher rates of morbidity and mortality than their “nonfoster” counterparts. Their story is not complete however. We can increase the resilience of our foster children and rewrite the outcomes of their futures through the responsible…