NCJ Number
73754
Journal
Psychotherapie medizinische Psychologie Volume: 26 Issue: 3 Dated: (1976) Pages: 65-72
Date Published
1976
Length
8 pages
Annotation
The treatment method used for juvenile delinquents at the Topeka (Kansas) Juvenile Center is described.
Abstract
Center clients are young psychopaths with infantile and narcissistic character disturbances. Ten cottages house 15 to 20 juveniles each. A multidisciplinary team works at the cottage level, with daily meetings to exchange information and to discuss problems. Responsibility for treatment belongs to a cottage committee made up of the house father, a social worker, and the team leader. The approach assumes multifactorial etiology of juvenile delinquency, and different treatment modes are applied in eight separate areas ranging from somatic problems to cultural adjustment. Each youth must work his way through a 7-month, 10-level system of responsibilities similar to the stages through which a young child masters his environment. Central focus of therapy is teaching juvenile workers as well as guided interaction in small groups of juveniles are the principal means of treatment. Maintenance of living quarters and active participation in sports are important elements of therapy; family counseling is also supplied. The school associated with the center, which provides training to the college level, seeks to raise the youngsters' tolerance for frustration. Art courses are used to further juveniles' emotional development, and shop teaches them pride in their own work. Thoroughly tested and diagnosed, individuals are sent to the center by juvenile courts, and introduced to the center's routine in an orientation program. After the orientation phase, team members submit their written observations, which are discussed in conference. The progress of treatment is recorded to furnish a basis for advancement to subsequent levels and a means of detecting particular problems of individuals and cottages. Illustrations and eight references are supplied.