18 February
NO 1266
Psychotherapy
The debate over what constitutes effective psychotherapy is at least as old as Freud, and while he is generally accepted as the first psychotherapist (Hubble, Duncan & Miller, 1999), it did not take Freud’s disciples long to establish their own brands of Psychotherapies (Corey, 1996).
The debate heated up in the 1950’s over claims by those adhering to a behavioral perspective, that talk therapies were not effective, and that to achieve public credibility, the effectiveness of psychotherapy had to be empirically established (Bachelor & Horvath, 1999).
By the 1960’s, when Child and Youth Care was gaining public credibility with the publication of Cottage Six (Polsky, 1962), and The Other 23 Hours (Trieschman, Whittaker, & Brendtro, 1969), this debate, essentially was a fight between adherents to a psychoanalytic model and a learning theory model, had taken on the characteristics of a “holy warâ€Â(p.9). No small wonder then, when John Bowlby a psychiatrist himself, formulated attachment theory (Bowlby,1969/1982) which he saw as an attempt to better understand human development and that recognized concepts from both models, that he was immediately ostracized by the psychoanalytic community.
Child and Youth Care then, as a profession,
has emerged within the context of this historical conflict and has
contributed the idea of the therapeutic milieu to the discussion over
what constitutes therapy.
Recent trends in the field of psychotherapy towards a managed care model
of service delivery which emphasizes empirically validated treatments,
the use of therapy treatment manuals, and protocol-driven interventions
(Ogles, Anderson, & Lunnen, 1999) requires Child and Youth Care
professionals to continue to speak eloquently to the therapeutic value
of their work. While Child and Youth Care continues to be welcome in
some fields of children’s mental health, and new opportunities may arise
within the youth justice system, other Child and Youth Care
practitioners have been laid off within traditional areas of Child and
Youth Care employment such as schools, and within the Ministry for
Children and Family Development.
JOHN RAYMENT
Rayment. J. (2005) Child and Youth Care Practice as Psychotherapy. Relational Child and Youth Care Practice, 18, 2. p. 29.
REFERENCES
Bachelor, A., Horvath, A. (1999). The therapeutic relationship. In M.A. Hubble, B.L. Duncan, & S.D. Miller (Ed.), The heart and soul of change: What works in therapy (pp.92-133). Washington, D.C. : American Psychological Association.
Bowlby, J. (1969/1982). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. London: The Hogarth Press.
Hubble, M.A., Duncan, B.L., & Miller, S.D. (1999). Introduction. In M.A. Hubble, B.L. Duncan,& S.D.
Oagles, B. M., Anderson, T., Lunnen, K.M. (1999). The contribution of models and techniques to therapeutic efficacy: Contradictions between professional trends and clinical research. In M.A. Hubble, B.L. Duncan,& S.D. Miller (Ed.), The heart and soul of change: What works in therapy (pp. 180-201). Washington, D.C. : American Psychological Association.
Polsky, W., H. (1962). Cottage six: The Social System of Delinquent Boys in Residential Treatment. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Trieschman, A.E., Whittaker, J.K., & Brendtro, L.K.
(1969). The other 23 hours: Child care work with emotionally
disturbed children in a therapeutic milieu. Chicago: Alpine
Publishing Company.
