Key Outcomes and Ingredients of an Adolescent Day Treatment Program
Date
2020-04-30
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Abstract
The current study evaluated an adolescent day treatment program (ADTP) located in Alberta, Canada. Specifically, this study addressed three primary research questions: (a) Do youth attending the current ADTP experience significant improvements in their mental health following treatment? (b) Is there a significant difference in mental health outcomes for youth attending the current programming offered at the ADTP compared to those who attended the previous program, after controlling for admission severity? and (c) What do youth attending the current ADTP experience as helping, hindering, and missing from their treatment experience? A mixed methods sequential explanatory design was employed to evaluate the effectiveness of the program while ascertaining in-depth accounts of youths’ experience of day treatment. Results of the statistical analyses supported both the overall and relative effectiveness of the current programming in terms of significantly reducing problem severity (i.e., HoNOSCA scores). In addition, a qualitative analysis conducted using the Enhanced Critical Incident Technique identified 114 helping and 48 hindering critical incidents (CIs), as well as 14 wish list (WL) items, which were organized into 14 categories. These categories were organized into five distinct yet overlapping elements of effective day treatment for youth: (a) the therapeutic milieu (b) group-facilitated learning, (c) peer-centered growth, (d) a unique school experience, and (e) a graduated discharge. Each of these elements is discussed in relation to their importance, as expressed by youth in the present study, as well as their fit with existing literature. In addition, recommendations for practice stemming from the integration of findings are discussed, including strengthening the therapeutic milieu, capitalizing on peer-centered growth, and continuing to utilize the DBT-skills group and transition phase activities.
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Keywords
Adolescent, Youth, Day Treatment, Mental Health
Citation
Colvin, S. A. G. (2020). Key Outcomes and Ingredients of an Adolescent Day Treatment Program (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.