Pain, Normality and the Struggle for Congruence - 9780789021410

Learn what children living in group homes need most!

Pain, Normality, and the Struggle for Congruence: Reinterpreting Residential Care for Children and Youth presents the results of a 14-month study of 10 staffed group homes in British Columbia. The book uses grounded theory to construct a theoretical model that speaks to the primary challenge care workers face each day?responding to pain and pain-based behavior in residents. It combines participant observations, transcribed interviews, and document analysis to develop a core theme of congruence, several major psychosocial processes, and 11 interactional dynamics identified as being fundamental to group home life. The study brings to light several neglected aspects of residential care and proposes new directions in policy development, education, practice, and research to create an integrated and accessible framework for understanding group home life for youths.

Pain, Normality, and the Struggle for Congruence: Reinterpreting Residential Care for Children and Youth is a full and rigorous examination of the theoretical and empirical underpinnings of residential group care. The study?conducted during a time of heightened sensitivity to the rights of children and increased emphasis on accountability and outcome measurement?reveals a core theme of congruence, focusing on consistency, reciprocity, and coherence. The book examines the major elements of this theme, including:

• creating an extra-familial living environment
• developing a sense of normality
• listening and responding with respect
• establishing a structure, routine, and expectations
• offering emotional and developmental support
• respecting personal space and time
• discovering potential
• communicating a framework for understanding
• and much more!