Abstract
This is a program description of a short-term residential unit in which whole families are assessed and treated. This unit provides an alternative treatment format for exploring situations where removal of the child appears to be the only remaining option. It also provides an in-depth consultation for agencies who are “stuck” in their treatment of family systems and allows for the teaching of family systems intervention techniques in a non-threatening way. It also allows an opportunity for an external system to reframe, what are, to the involved clinician, impasses with clinical problems. The program, because of its structure, introduces anxiety and tension into systems with chronic mental health problems. It, therefore, serves as, not a panacea, but as an adjunct to more traditional treatment for rigid and resistant systems.