Strong Teens is an evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum designed to target internalizing disorders by promoting emotional resilience and social competence. In this study, Strong Teens was implemented among 36 adolescent girls during group therapy in a residential treatment center (RTC). A non-equivalent, quasi-experimental wait-list control group design was used. The curriculum was evaluated by tracking the girls' social and emotional knowledge, internalizing symptoms, and resilience from the perspectives of the girls, group therapists, and a supervisor who was blind to the study. Although the results indicated that exposure to Strong Teens was not effective in increasing the social and emotional knowledge of the girls, statistically significant reductions in internalizing symptoms and statistically significant gains in resilience were reported. Treatment fidelity checklists were filled out during 31% of the lessons where it was observed that the average lesson time was 30.11 minutes and 62% of the lessons' components implemented with integrity. In addition, group therapists completed a social validity questionnaire after the completion of the lessons in which they agreed with the goals and procedures of the curriculum, were neutral with the outcomes, and generally reported that the curriculum helped the girls facilitate better awareness of linking thoughts, feelings, and behaviors as well as helping them better understand empathy and improved peer interactions. They also indicated that the curriculum was "too basic" and wished it would have had more tailored specifics for their population. It is recommended that future research with this population investigate which SEL topics are most suitable, identify the most favorable lesson time, and explore student perspectives and experiences with Strong Teens.

This study evaluated a physical activity-based residential treatment program. It explored the current literature on adolescent treatment implementing physical exercise with parental participation, specifically at residential treatment centers. While the current literature strongly supports physical exercise and family involvement in adolescent treatment, research on combining physical exercise with family involvement is insufficient at best. The data were obtained from Telos Residential Treatment Center, an all-boys treatment program that incorporates a triathlon into their treatment curriculum and keeps pre- and posttest scores of the Youth Outcome Questionnaire for their students as well as completed questionnaires from students' parents. Research questions addressed whether or not the pre- and posttest scores support Telos' treatment program in terms of standardized test scores as well as possible differences in outcomes based on parent participation in the triathlon. Missing data and data corruption were major flaws in the study, significantly limiting the sample size. Consequently, the research questions could not be tested appropriately; however, there were statistically significant relationships (p < .05) between pre and post scores of intrapersonal distress as well as scores from the Global Assessment of Functioning, with both scores indicating change in a positive direction. Cohen's d also showed change in the desired direction in regards to interpersonal relationships and somatic symptoms. Students of parents who did not participate in a triathlon showed more improvement in interpersonal relationships as well as in intrapersonal distress and somatic symptoms. Parents who trained and physically participated in at least a portion of the triathlon with their son attributed their sons' treatment gains to the emotional intensity of the triathlon more than nonparticipating parents. Contrary to expectation, however, they did not weigh their own participation in the triathlon as heavily as nonparticipating parents in explaining treatment gains, specifically in improvements in how they and their son perceive and experience each other.

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Residential care has evolved overtime from a system of supporting indigent children to care for those youth with mental health, behavioral, or medical disability diagnoses. Currently, in the United States there are 57k children involved in the child welfare system with approximately 14% residing in residential care. These systems have a long history of utilizing punishment-based, coercive techniques for managing problem behavior. Although these methods are thought to be further traumatizing for youth who have already been traumatized throughout their lives, the punishment-based techniques are ubiquitous throughout residential care. This study sought to evaluate the feasibility of adopting the School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) model to residential care for youth involved with the Florida child welfare system. During this study, two cottages at the facility met high PBIS fidelity and experienced a decrease in reported inappropriate behavior across daily behavior scores and incident reports. The results are promising and suggest PBIS can be adopted and implemented within residential facilities. Limitations and future research is discussed.

This study was requested by Dr. Ira B. Korman, Administrator, Woodland Park Mental Health Center. Woodland Park Mental Health Center currently provides a program of short-term evaluation and crisis care for adolescents. The staff there find it is difficult to locate suitable out-of-home placements for certain of their adolescent patients concluding hospitalization. Their concern for this group of hard-to-place patients has led to this inquiry, the purposes of which are to (1) assess need, (2) design a residential program, and (3) consider the feasibility of its implementation.

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RTCs play an increasingly significant role in the continuum of treatment of emotionally disturbed adolescents. However, outcome research in this area has lagged behind the growth of treatment centers. More specifically, there has been very little investigation of the relative efficacy of the many different aspects of residential treatment, which are referred to as mechanisms of change in other research. The present study attempts to develop a phenomenological understanding of RTC patients' experience of all of the interventions that make up residential treatment. Results suggest that patients view social support, non-therapist staff members, family involvement and family therapy, as most prominent in their change process. Patient articulations indicate that they are able to understand a great deal about the importance of multi-modal treatment, and the importance of receiving a broad range of treatment interventions. Limited four year follow-up data is also included.

When children return home from residential treatment for behavioral challenges, continuity of care is clinically advised and empirically supported. If parents lack the skills to support this transition, a child’s treatment gains may be at risk. Parenting difficulties can initiate oppositional and avoidant behaviors in children, and if sustained, damage the parent-child relationship, leading to poor child outcomes. Offering parent training during a child’s residential treatment may increase parent self-efficacy and use of the training in support of a child’s transition home. A Northeastern US Residential Treatment Program (RTP) annually provides short-term residential treatment for children (ages 6-18), and therapeutic supports to the parents of these children during their milieu care. RTP’s new online parenting program was evaluated across three separate but related studies, exploring in Phase 1) perceived barriers to online program usability, Phase 2) how video dosage was associated with changes in parenting self-efficacy and parenting stress, and Phase 3) through the lens of family routines, what were the longer-term effects of the online program. Results from Phase 1 suggested that parents with lower technology familiarity may need ongoing support to successfully complete online training; adding digital prompts helped parents to autonomously navigate the online program. Phase 2 results indicated that parenting self-efficacy increased minimally while children were away, and decreased when children returned home; an inverse effect was found for parenting stress. Phase 3 revealed limited application of the online parent training in post-residential family routines; parent training was shared internationally within parenting social networks, though virtually no videos were watched once children had transitioned home. Similar parenting programs using the Fogg Behavior Model may consider nudging parents during natural surges in parent motivation to prolong recently initiated therapeutic benefits during post-residential home aftercare.