Compass

Regardless of the setting, professionals working with difficult or disturbed children are often guided by a clinical treatment plan. These plans often review significant historical information, identify a psychiatric diagnosis, and outline sophisticated interventions that address the presenting issues of the individual child. Such plans are often unique to the treatment setting in which they are implemented, and don’t always follow the child when the intervention is complete or the child changes placements. The needs of the child and family are often much broader and require an extension of the treatment process to settings such as schools, community based programs, residential settings and foster homes. One way to do help all care providers know how to help a child is through the Direct Care Treatment Plan (DCTP) for every child.

The DCTP can be an effective tool universally applied to children in a variety of settings.  This Plan can be implemented from the first contact to the last interaction, thereby acting as a blueprint for how adults can work collaboratively.  Adults can be assisted to be therapeutic agents and strengthen the child’s healing and learning from the past, whilst engaging in the present and preparing for the future. DCTPs can complement existing treatment plans or stand alone as a powerful intervention tool.

The 3 core principles of an effective DCTP are:

1. Working with the child to overcome the past through disconfirming previous negative interactions. Often childhood emotional and behavioral problems have developed through negative patterns of interaction primarily with adults.

1. Reclaiming the present through the development of a new internal working model. Children function based upon their personal perceptions of the world and themselves. This should be the main focus in helping children, rather than placing all the focus on  the emotions and behaviours that result from internal perceptions.

1. Directing the child to a successful future by preparing them for the challenges ahead.  Working with the child to teach them the skills they will need to negotiate successfully in a complex world and how to do better with each learning opportunity.

In this day long workshop Dr. Dave Ziegler will discuss how human service professionals, regardless of their role or access to detailed information on the child, can practically incorporate the principles of the Direct Care Treatment Plans to assist in meaningful long-term change for the children and families they work with. The material in this workshop will be understandable to adults from entry level to advanced roles in helping children and applicable in a wide variety of settings.

Dave Ziegler PhD is a licensed Psychologist and Counsellor, Executive Director and Organizational Founder of the Jasper Mountain Centre in Oregon, a residential counselling program, school, assessment & treatment program for children. He is an international authority and presenter on matters relating to child trauma. He is the author of many books & published articles on working with difficult children, including ‘Achieving Success with Impossible Children’, and ‘Traumatic Experience and the Brain’.

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