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"Cases of Child Neglect and Abuse at Private Residential Treatment Facilities"
Currently, there is buzz in the media and in the adolescent mental health and behavioral health industries about some hearings currently taking place in DC. These hearings have to do with alleged widespread abuses in adolescent residential care facilities. The media coverage of this and similar stories has, in general, taken on a sensationalist tone and has failed to acknowledge important distinctions in categories of adolescent care. I recently wrote a friend who anchors a major television news show and who has an interest in our industry and work; I requested that she do a more balanced and educative piece on the topic of treatment (and mistreatment) in adolescent programs. Here is what I wrote... - Will Laughlin
Hello Friend:
I thought of you recently after seeing Diane Sawyer do a piece featuring Washington hearings on the purported dangers of residential treatment. I have a concern and an idea that I wanted to toss your way.
My concern is that this piece and other media treatments of similar topics fail to make even the broadest distinctions between adolescent mental health organizations and categories of treatment. They use various terms interchangeably that actually have strong distinctions in the mental health industry. Terms such as "boot camp," "therapeutic program," "wilderness camp," "residential program," "treatment," "wilderness program," "tough love program," etcetera are all jumbled together as if they're all the same. The result, I fear, is not a better educated or informed public, but merely a more fearful one.
As a result, I don't think this type of story functions well as either a news piece or a public service, though it poses as both. Many families who need mental-health services will grasp for any reason they can to avoid engaging those services--often because of simple fear.
Fear-mongering stories, therefore, as opposed to balanced expository stories, can cause real harm. Furthermore, since no one wants dangerous programs to be put out of business more than good programs do, it's troubling to have all adolescent programs seemingly lumped into a single category.
I think it might be both educational and interesting for you to do a piece that taps into the news of these hearings on abuses in residential programs, but also does the following:
Describes some of the broad categories of residential and non-residential support
- Drug and alcohol, LD, specialty treatment, general treatment, emotional growth, non-public schools, boot camps, public, private, military, etc.
- Residential, inpatient, outpatient, community based, wraparound, day treatment, home-based (Beth and I currently work for Vive, which delivers support to families in their home environment--a very interesting alternative)
- Teases out the question of how to avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater
- Where is the line between appropriate regulation and hyper-regulation (the absence of the former opens the doors for abuse, the presence of the latter has doomed many mental health programs to static mediocrity)?
- Are there programs that can provide the rest of the industry with models for best practices (the answer is yes)?
- Are there alternatives to residential care?
Give the public (consumers) some ideas for evaluating the quality of programs
- What is an educational consultant?
- Types of professional credentials for caregivers and categories of program regulation, licensure, and accreditation...
- Questions to ask of any program...
- How to tour a program and what to look for...
- How to evaluate if short or long-term residential treatment, outpatient care, or home care is the most appropriate option...
- Etc.
Because of your interest in our industry I thought I'd scribble you a note seeing what you think of these observations/suggestions. I'd be happy to help you research such a story. Let me know your thoughts!
Watch the hearing. Full Committee Hearing: "Cases of Child Neglect and Abuse at Private Residential Treatment Facilities"
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