| 1. |
- Ahonen, Lia, 1976-, et al.
(author)
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Moral development as a crucial treatment goal for young people in institutional care : a critical comparison between milieu therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy
- 2012
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In: Therapeutic Communities. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 0964-1866 .- 2052-4730. ; 33:1, s. 4-15
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: This article aims to analyze and discuss the role of moral development in treatment of behavior problems and, further, to describe differences and similarities between two different methods – Milieu Therapy (MT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – in terms of addressing criminogenic needs and promoting moral development.Design: By performing a literature review, the study shows that even though there are both pros and cons using MT and CBT in institutional care, relationships strong enough to restructure a young person’s moral reasoning require time, and involves not only the young person’s parents and social network members, but also a genuine therapeutic alliance with clinical staff at the institution.Findings: These are central factors articulated in both CBT and MT, but are more explicitly expressed in MT. The results of this article highlight some important practical implications: In order to redevelop moral self and societal values, an overly narrow focus on criminogenic needs might exclude other components or processes of treatment and behavioral change. Together with a treatment program that view close staffresident interactions as of secondary importance, this could impair the possibility to obtain positive and long-lasting treatment results.Implications: In practice, moral development itself should be considered as an overall treatment goal, integrated into the daily life at the institution, twenty-four hours a day. Finally, the possibility to work with moral development in institutional settings is discussed.
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| 2. |
- Ahonen, Lia, 1976-, et al.
(author)
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Negative peer cultures in juvenile institutional settings : staff as couch coaches or couch slouches
- 2012
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In: Journal of Offender Rehabilitation. - : Taylor & Francis Group. - 1050-9674 .- 1540-8558. ; 51:5, s. 316-330
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Juveniles in institutional treatment lack the skills to cope with societal expectations, rules, and moral values. If not prevented by staff, bonds are established with other deviant youth and the placement serves as a perfect "school of crime." This article aims to explore staff strategies to prevent negative peer cultures, as well as their theoretical foundations and relation to staff academic level and professional experience. Data were collected at eight Swedish institutions, using the Correctional Program Assessment Inventory 2000, questionnaires, observations, and interviews with clinical staff. Results show that most facilities lack negative-peer-culture strategies, but this is not related to academic level or experience. The importance, in terms of influencing the residents, of theoretical knowledge concerning psychological group-processes, peer culture, and moral development, as these relate to staff-supervised or unsupervised time, is discussed.
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| 3. |
- Ahonen, Lia, 1976-, et al.
(author)
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Staff group unanimity in care of juveniles in institutional treatment : routines, rituals, and relationships
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- To promote behavioral change processes in young people in institutional care, it is important that staff groups have common therapeutic goals, a unified view on how to achieve change, and similar attitudes towards the use of theory and methods. This article examines the level of Staff Group Unanimity at 8 treatment wards, by using the Correctional Program Assessment Inventory 2000 (CPAI), a questionnaire, additional interviews with key staff, and observations. Results show that most staff members have different views of the theory and methods used, low common therapeutic goals, and low agreement on how treatment should be performed, accompanied by low to modest confidence in management overall, and management’s ability to promote staff unity. The complexity of promoting positive interactions in the staff group without also creating distance to the residents is discussed.
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| 4. |
- Ahonen, Lia, 1976-, et al.
(author)
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Staff Group Unanimity in the Care of Juveniles in Institutional Treatment : Routines, Rituals, and Relationships
- 2013
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In: Journal of Offender Rehabilitation. - London : Routledge. - 1050-9674 .- 1540-8558. ; 52:2, s. 119-137
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- One prerequisite for effective institutional care is that staff agree on how to deliver treatment and have a unified view of how to achieve change—in other words, to have staff group unanimity (SGU). This study used the Correctional Program Assessment Inventory (CPAI) 2000, interviews with key staff, and observations of daily activities to examine the levels of SGU on eight treatment wards in Sweden. Results show that staff members had differing views of the theory and methods, low common therapeutic goals, low to modest confidence in management, and low agreement about how treatment should be delivered. At institutions displaying low and medium levels of SGU, observations revealed significantly less interactions between staff and residents, and the residents spend a lot less time in staff supervised activities than at institutions with a high level of SGU. This article also considers the complexity of promoting positive interactions among the staff while maintaining close relationships between the staff and residents.
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| 5. |
- Ahonen, Lia, 1976-, et al.
(author)
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Working with complex problem behaviors in juvenile institutional care : staff’s competence, organizational conditions and public value
- 2014
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In: International Journal of Prisoner Health. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 1744-9200 .- 1744-9219. ; 10:4, s. 239-251
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PurposeInstitutional staff encounter juveniles with complex problems (externalizing and internalizing)which calls for adequate formal education/training and professional experience to deliver quality treatment, contributing to an effective organization and increasing public value. The purpose of this paper is to investigate staff’s formal education, professional experience and the institutions’ organizational strategies providing knowledge and clinical training to staff.Design/methodology/approachThe study includes staff questionnaires from eight wards (n¼102). In addition, 39 in-depth interviews were conducted with management and staff members.FindingsResults show that institutions lack clearly defined target groups, 70 percent of staff members lack college education, 30 percent has never been offered education within the organization, and the vast majority of staff does not feel competent in performing their daily work.Practical implicationsThe results from this study shed light on an overlooked area in institutions, detention centers and prison settings, and are important to policy makers and governmental organizations responsible for coercive care of juveniles.Originality/valueUnlike previous studies, treatment and detention organizations are emphasized as similar to manufacturing industry and profit organizations, and the results are discussed with departure in organizational theory.
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| 8. |
- Degner, Jürgen, 1964-, et al.
(author)
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Placerad utanför sitt sammanhang : en uppföljningsstudie av 46 institutionsplacerade ungdomars privata och formella relationer
- 2007
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- When young people are placed in residential treatment centres (RTCs), it is important that facility staff involve parents and other social network members (PSMs) (private relations) in the residential treatment program. This involvement process depends on both PSMs’ willingness and capability to take part in the youths’ treatment, as well as the residential staffs’ attitude towards promoting this process. The overall aim of the dissertation is to explore obstacles to and opportunities for involving PSMs in the youths’ treatment process. One key question is to investigate how the youths describe their parents’ emotional attitude, and support from other significant members of their network. At times of tension between youth and family, other formal relations with professional and non-professional support persons could serve as mediators between the youth and his or her family of origin. Accordingly, the aim is to investigate whether, and if so how, these support persons are included in the treatment process. Further, a positive treatment alliance between residential staff and the youth (resident) is important for the treatment outcome. Two further issues are to explore how the residents view the staffs’ personal involvement with the resident, and, from a gender perspective, to investigate the residents’ descriptions of the treatment received at the facility. Semi structured interviews, including a social network map and a Feeling word checklist, were conducted with 46 youths (23 girls/23 boys) placed at 10 different state RTCs run by the Swedish National Board of Institutional Care (SiS). The residents were interviewed three times, at approximately one-year intervals. This thesis is based on material from the first and second interview with the residents. Interviews were also conducted on one occasion with 23 support persons. Paper I deals with the PSMs’ involvement in the residents’ treatment process. Paper II explores obstacles to and opportunities for establishing a therapeutic alliance between key staff members and residents in a one year perspective. Papers III and IV investigate the residents’ (paper III) and support persons’ (paper IV) views of possibilities for the support persons to take part in the treatment program. Finally, Paper V aims, from a gender perspective, to study the residents’ descriptions of their psychosocial problems, their need for help, and their experiences of the help received from the staff at the facility. The main results show that the majority of the youths describe their parents as having a negative emotional attitude, with a desolate or family-oriented social network system. At the first interview the residents described the key staff members as mainly having little personal involvement, but this staff involvement had increased, according to the residents, by the one-year follow-up. Obstacles to and possibilities for involving PSMs as well as support persons is mainly related to staffs’ encouraging, or not encouraging attitude, attitudes of social welfare agency personnel (regarding support persons), and PSMs’ capability and willingness to participate in the program. With regard to gender, data indicate that there is reason to nuance the proposition of girls being more relationship oriented, and boys autonomous – at least in treatment settings – since, for example, the boys in the study to the same extent as the girls desired more trustful conversations with the staff. The importance of making an inventory of the youths’ social network and focusing on support persons’ involvement in the treatment program is discussed.
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| 9. |
- Degner, Jürgen, 1964-, et al.
(author)
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Young residents’ view of support persons’ involvement in the institutional treatment programme : a one-year follow-up
- 2015
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In: Nordic Social Work Research. - : Taylor & Francis Group. - 2156-857X .- 2156-8588. ; 5:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Many youths placed in residential treatment centres (RTCs) have prior to placement had contact with professional and non-professional support persons (SPs). By interviewing 46 youths (residents) from 10 Swedish RTCs, the present study aims to investigate the residents' view of their relationship with SPs, and, in a one-year follow-up, explore obstacles to or possibilities for maintaining the relationship during the stay at the facility. Results show that 20 residents consider the SPs to be significant adults with an emotional involvement component; seven residents describe their SP as having an instrumental involvement attitude, while 19 residents did not report any significant SP at all. Several obstacles and a few possibilities for involving the SPs were found in the one-year follow-up. Both obstacles and possibilities mainly concerned the willingness of facility staff, and in some cases the social welfare agency staff, to encourage SP involvement. A more systematic SP involvement procedure is needed at the RTC, as well as on the part of the handling officer in the social service agency. Further, it is important that when new residents arrive, staff should make an inventory of important
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| 10. |
- Degner, Jürgen, 1964-, et al.
(author)
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Youths in coercive residential care : Perception of parents and social network involvement in treatment programs
- 2007
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In: Therapeutic Communities. - 0964-1866. ; 28:4, s. 416-432
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Involvement by parents and other significant social work members (PSMs) in the treatment program is important for positive treatment effects when youths are placed in residential treatment centres (RTC). The staffs of the RTCs play a key role by either supporting or not supporting such involvement. By interviewing 23 boys and 23 girls in ten different RTCs using a milieu-therapeutic method, the present study explores obstacles to, and opportunities for the involvement of PSMs in the treatment program. The majority of the youths report non-involvement strategies from staff, a negative emotional attitude from parents, and desolate, non-supportive social networks. A small group of youths report encouraging staff and PSMs. Explanations such as staff turnover, facility rules, staff attitudes, and deficiencies in significant individuals' involvement are discussed.
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