INDEX OF QUOTES
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The group living environment should constitute an arena for learning rather than a haven for intensive care. The children we seek to help are not so fragile, "sick" or traumatized that they need to be isolated from the effects of their behavior on those around them. In fact, the group life environment should be so designed that it actively engages noisy, troublesome, acting-out behavior — as opposed to either simply suppressing it through punitive sanction or suffering through it in the belief that it is a requisite for therapeutic change. Our message in the milieu should be loud and clear: "We accept you as a person with rights, feelings, and individuality; we reject, totally, those things you do which make trouble for yourself or for others and which keep you from growing as a competent, autonomous individual." We seek to create an environment where all the participants — children and staff — are interdependent; care about one another; and are willing to challenge, support, and aid each other in the process of growth and change. |
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