Family and Youth Roles in Selecting Interventions
We have all walked into a doctor's office seeking treatment because we feel sick. Sometimes we don't know how to talk to the doctor about how we feel or even what we need to feel better. Being told that "this is going around, just take this (medication) for a few days and you should be fine and come back to see me" may make you feel that you have wasted your time, or more importantly that you were not heard. This situation can happen when looking for mental health services for your child.
Families and youth should take on the role of experts when working with providers because only they know what they are experiencing. The Child and Family Team (Huffine, 2002), which is a key aspect of Wraparound Services, provides a model for family partnership and family-driven care. Key elements of the Child and Family Team are:
- The family has the primary role in determining care for their child or adolescent
- The team identifies the child's specific strengths and needs
- The team determines the nature of care to be offered and purchases this care, in consultation with professional as needed
- Membership on the team is determined by the family and should be composed of no more than 50% professionals. The rest of the team should be other family members, friends, family advocates, neighbors, workmates, ministers, coaches, or other community supports
The "Child and Family Team" model may not be used in your community, but there is no reason that families and youth can not advocate for this type of full partnership in determining the care that their child or youth is to receive.
Helpful Links
If you need support, seek out your local Federation of Families or NAMI chapter for peer-to-peer services. There are also supportive services available for youth through the Youth Group Development, Youth MOVE.
References
Huffine, C. (2002). Child and adolescent psychiatry: Current trends in the community treatment of seriously emotionally disturbed youth. Psychiatric Services, 53, 809- 811.