An evaluation of the psychotherapeutic milieu therapy programme of the William Slater Centre for Adolescents and Young Adults

In recent years there has been increasing recognition of the turmoil of the adolescent developmental period. This has primarily been the result of research demonstrating high morbidity, and at times mortality, for this age group. With the acknowledgement of adolescent mental health problems, and adolescent depression in particular, came the application of a range of treatments for adolescent problems and disorders. This in tum gave rise to a need, from funders and practitioners alike, to demonstrate the efficacy of the interventions. While traditional social science methods were utilised for this purpose, the rise of the field of evaluation brought new vigour to the area of efficacy of psychological treatments. It was this new approach that informed the structure and methodology for the present thesis. The aim of this thesis was to evaluate the William Slater Centre for Adolescents and Young Adults' psychotherapeutic milieu treatment programme. The efficacy of this milieu treatment programme was determined by analysing the following: (i) the structure of the programme; (ii) the process of the programme; and (iii) the short-term outcome of the programme. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Results of the evaluation are manifold, with each chapter of the thesis providing insight into varying aspects of the Centre's therapeutic programme. Detailed descriptions of the structure and process of the William Slater Centre and its therapeutic programme is provided. This is followed by an in-depth account of the implementation of the therapeutic programme, where details of the day-to-day functioning of the programme is provided. The final part of the thesis is a brief examination of the short-term outcome of the programme and the staff and adolescent patients' perceptions of the strengths and limitations of the Centre's programme. The thesis provides a comprehensive overview of the structure and functioning of the William Slater Centre and its programme. Emphasis is placed on the concordance of the therapeutic programme with milieu therapy principles. The thesis demonstrates that while the Centre provides an essential service to the adolescent psychiatric population, significant organisational problems of the Centre and the programme require attention.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Psychology

Year dc:date.issued

1997

Author dc:creator

• Ahmed, Nazeema

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Louw, Johann

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13458

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13458