Family Friendliness of Inpatient Services for Children and Adolescents with EBD and Their Families: Observational Study of the Treatment Team Process

Abstract

Family-friendly services in child mental health include those that are aligned with the needs of families and are delivered in a manner that values professionals and shows respect for family involvement, empowerment, and cultural differences. We used the Family Assessment Planning Team (FAPT) Observation Form (Inpatient Version) to assess the family friendliness of the admissions treatment team process at an inpatient child and adolescent psychiatric hospital. This instrument is divided into five sections that reflect the general process of a typical admissions treatment team meeting in inpatient child and adolescent psychiatry: Introduction, Meeting Management, Case Presentation and Discussion, Service Plans, and Tact and Technicalities. Each of the 46 items in this form represents a behavior or event that may occur during a typical children's mental health services planning meeting, and each incorporates some part of the key conceptual components of family friendliness. Use of the forms also allows for the collection of data on relevant characteristics of the meeting participants, as well as demographic information on the children and their families. We observed 35 case presentations of new admissions to a child or adolescent treatment unit in an inpatient setting. Although there were variations between the two treatment teams and among the 35 case presentations, the overall rating across all case presentations was moderately family friendly (72%) and showed marginally higher family friendliness than comparable service planning teams in the community (63%). As with community service teams, improvements in the treatment team process in child and adolescent inpatient psychiatric services are needed in order to ensure increased family friendliness in the planning of services for children with EBD.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Able-Boone, H. , Sandall, S.R. , & Frederick, L.L. (1990). An informed, family-centered approach to public law 99-457: Parental views. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 10, 100-111.

Alexander, L.B. , & Dore, M.M. (1999). Making the parents as partners principle a reality: The role of the alliance. Journal of Child and Family Studies , 8, 255-270.

Bailey, D.B. , & Blasco, P.M. (1990). Parents' perspectives on a written survey of family needs. Journal of Early Intervention, 14, 196-203.

Baker, B.L. , Heller, T.L. , Blacher, J. , & Pfeiffer, S.I. (1995). Staff attitudes toward family involvement in residential treatment centers for children. Psychiatric Services, 46, 60-65.

Byalin, K. (1990). Parent empowerment: A treatment strategy for hospitalized adolescents. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 41, 89-90.

Cohen, J. (1960). A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales . Educational and Psychological Measurement, 20, 37-46.

Collins, B. , & Collins, T. (1990). Parent-professional relationships in the treatment of seriously emotionally disturbed children and adolescents. Social Work, 35, 522-527.

Comer, J.P. , & Haynes, N.M. (1991). Parent involvement in schools: An ecological approach . The Elementary School Journal, 91, 270-277.

Curtis, W.J. , & Singh, N.N. (1996). Family involvement and empowerment in mental health service provision for children with emotional and behavioral disorders. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 5, 503-517.

10.

DeChillo, N. , Koren, P.E. , & Schultze, K.H. (1994). From paternalism to partnership: Family and professional collaboration in children's mental health . Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 64, 564-576.

11.

Delgado-Gaitan, C. (1991). Involving parents in schools: A process of empowerment . American Journal of Education, 100, 20-46.

12.

Dunst, C.J. , Trivette, C.M. , Davis, M. , & Cornwell, J. (1988). Enabling and empowering families of children with health impairments. Children's Health Care, 17, 71-81.

13.

Ellis, C.R. , & Singh, N.N. (1998). Families of children with serious emotional disturbance . In N. N. Singh (Ed.), Comprehensive clinical psychology. Vol. 9: Applications in diverse populations (pp. 235-252). New York: Elsevier .

14.

Freund, P.D. (1993). Professional role(s) in the empowerment process: "Working with" mental health consumers. Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal, 16, 65-73.

15.

Friesen, B.J. , Koren, P.E. , & Koroloff, N.M. (1992). How parents view professional behaviors: A cross-professional analysis. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 1, 209-231.

16.

Greenley, J.R. , & Robitschek, C.G. (1991). Evaluation of a comprehensive program for youth with severe emotional disorders: An analysis of family experiences and satisfaction. American Orthopsychiatric Association , 61, 291-297.

17.

Hatfield, A.B. (1979). The family as partner in the treatment of mental illness. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 30, 338-340.

18.

Nyberg, T.C. (1990). Family services planning team observation form . Tampa: University of South Florida , Florida Mental Health Institute, CFS Outreach Programs.

19.

Palfrey, J.S. , Walker, D.K. , Butler, J.A. , & Singer, J.D. (1989). Patterns of response in families of chronically disabled children: An assessment in five metropolitan school districts. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 59, 94-103.

20.

Parsons, R.J. (1991). Empowerment: Purpose and practice principle in social work. Social Work with Groups, 14, 7-21.

21.

Russell, G.L. , Fujino, D.C. , Sue, S. , Cheung, M.K. , & Snowden, L.R. (1996). The effects of therapist-client ethnic match in the assessment of mental health functioning. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 27, 598-615.

22.

Singh, N.N. (1995). In search of unity: Some thoughts on family-professional relationships in service delivery systems. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 4, 3-18.

23.

Singh, N.N. (1998). Cultural diversity: A challenge for evaluating systems of care. In M. H. Epstein , K. Kutash , & A. Duchnowski (Eds.), Outcomes for children and youth with behavioral and emotional disorders and their families: Programs and evaluation best practices (pp. 425-454). Austin, TX: PRO-ED .

24.

Singh, N.N. , Curtis, W.J. , & Wechsler, H.A. (1995). Family assessment and planning team observation form: Manual. Richmond: Virginia Commonwealth University.

25.

Singh, N.N. , Curtis, W.J. , Wechsler, H.A. , Ellis, C.R. , & Cohen, R. (1997). Family friendliness of community-based services for children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders: An observational study. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 5, 82-92.

26.

Singh, N.N. , Ellis, C.R. , Oswald, D.R. , Wechsler, H.A. , & Curtis, W.J. (1997). Addressing and valuing diversity. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 5, 24-35.

27.

Singh, N.N. , Villani, T. , Curtis, W.J. , & Wechsler, H.A. (1994). Family assessment and planning team observation form. Richmond: Virginia Commonwealth University.

28.

Sluyter, G.V. (1994). Creating a vision for mental health services: A survey of states. Administration and Policy in Mental Health , 21, 247-250.

29.

Sonnenschein, P. (1981). Parents and professionals: An uneasy relationship . Teaching Exceptional Children, 14, 62-65.

30.

Staples, L.H. (1990). Powerful ideas about empowerment. Administration in Social Work, 14, 29-42.

31.

Strickland, B. (1993). Parents and the education system. In J. L. Paul & R. J. Simeonsson (Eds.), Children with special needs: Family, culture, and society (pp. 231-255). Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

32.

Summers, J.A. , Dell'Oliver, C. , Turnbull, A.P. , Benson, H.A. , Santelli, E. , Campbell, M. , & Siegel-Causey, E. (1990). Examining the Individualized Family Service Plan process: What are family and practitioner preferences? Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 10(1), 78-99.

33.

Williams, B.E. (1988). Parents and patients: Members of an interdisciplinary team on an adolescent inpatient unit. Clinical Social Work Journal, 16, 78-91.