Psychosocial Support

The best form of psychosocial support is a healthy family and supportive environment, preferably in the child's community of origin, or one that is culturally similar. Psychosocial well-being is a product of multiple support, which is rooted in the ability to form healthy relationships and participate in community networks.

However, certain considerations may be required in order to help children and caretakers come to terms with life-changing events, such as the loss of a parent. Separation can be highly stressful for children, particularly if it is unexpected, or repeated. Some children may experience anxiety, attachment problems, sleep disturbances, dependency issues, regression, and a range of other behavioural issues which threaten their mental health and development.

Specific types of support may be required for children suffering from loss, severe or chronic ill health, abuse or exploitation. The child’s experience, age, resilience, and the level of support received from the family and community will determine if a child needs external services. A child is far less likely to experience psychosocial stress if they have good natural support mechanisms and therefore protection efforts should focus on supporting families and communities to help each other.

When psychosocial support is needed, an assessment is important in determining the scope and type of issues, the existing family and community resources, and analysis of how these can be strengthened. Clinical mental health interventions such as therapy, psychiatry or psychological counseling, should only be provided by trained professionals after a clinical assessment and, in all cases, should be culturally relevant.

Psychosocial activities must promote the children’s development and their relationships with others, re-establish routines, increase self confidence and sense of control over their lives. Children’s activities, such as the provision of safe places, group work or referrals to specialists, should be designed around the child’s individual needs, age, gender, and cultural identity. Interventions should be empowering, inclusive, and fully integrated with wider community efforts. Children’s participation is essential in psychosocial work; children should be encouraged to express their opinions, and to have these taken into account.

The literature found here describes the psychosocial effects of separation, and other threats to children such as HIV/AIDS, conflict, abuse and exploitation, and provides guidance and examples of psychosocial interventions.

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‘Getting our voices out there’: acceptability of a mental health participation programme for young people with out of home care experience in Australia

Jessie Rafeld, Kristen Moeller-Saxone, Sue Cotton, Simon Rice, Katherine Monson, Carol Harvey, Helen Herrman - Health Promotion International, 11 Oct 2019

The Bounce Project is a pilot youth-leadership mental health training programme co-designed with young people who have experienced out-of-home-care (OoHC). In this study, the authors evaluated the Bounce Project from the young people’s perspectives to explore the acceptability, successes and limitations of the training to promote the participant’s mental health and their contribution to system level change.

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Looked after and adopted children: applying the latest science to complex biopsychosocial formulations

Carmen Pinto - Adoption & Fostering, 26 Sep 2019

Looked after and adopted children are among the most vulnerable in our society and it is well established that they present with a higher prevalence of mental health problems than children who live with their birth family. This article presents a case study of a 15-year-old boy whose severe difficulties were understood and formulated in terms of ‘attachment problems’ for many years.

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Country Care Review: Albania

Better Care Network , 25 Sep 2019

This country care review includes the Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Committees' recommendations on the issue of Family Environment and Alternative Care, and other care relevant issues, are highlighted.

Promoting mental health in out of home care in Australia

Katherine Monson, Kristen Moeller-Saxone, Cathy Humphreys, Carol Harvey, Helen Herrman - Health Promotion International, 24 Sep 2019

This qualitative study explored perspectives from young people with experience of OoHC in Melbourne, Australia regarding the promotion of mental health in OoHC. The study informed the subsequent development of a system-level intervention to support workers and carers in OoHC and evaluation of its implementation, the Ripple study.

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A comparison between a Neuro-Physiological Psychotherapy (NPP) treatment group and a control group for children adopted from care: Support for a neurodevelopmentally informed approach to therapeutic intervention with maltreated children

Elaine McCullough & Amy Mathura - Child Abuse & Neglect, 13 Sep 2019

The objective of this study was to compare the outcomes for the Neuro-Physiological Psychotherapy (NPP) intervention group to those of a control group.

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The Impact of the Care Setting on Child Rehabilitation

Better Care Network, 12 Sep 2019

In this video, Sreyna and Chenda, two practitioners from Hagar Cambodia, discuss their learning regarding the impact of the care setting on child rehabilitation.

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Participatory Peer Research in the Treatment of Young Adults With Mild Intellectual Disabilities and Severe Behavioral Problems

Louis Tavecchio, Peer Van der Helm, Xavier Moonen, Mark Assink, Geert Jan Stams, Inge Wissink, Jessica Asscher - New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 11 Sep 2019

This study provides an illustration of a research design complementary to randomized controlled trial to evaluate program effects, namely, participatory peer research (PPR). The PPR described in current study was carried out in a small sample (N = 10) of young adults with mild intellectual disabilities (MID) and severe behavioral problems [in residential care in the Netherlands].

Enhancing Capacity for Trauma‐informed Care in Child Welfare: Impact of a Statewide Systems Change Initiative

Christian M. Connell, Jason M. Lang, Bethany Zorba, Kristina Stevens - Community Psychology, 09 Sep 2019

This article describes CONCEPT, a multi‐year initiative to enhance capacity of the US state of Connecticut's child welfare system (CWS) to provide trauma‐informed care.

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Examining the Influence of Individual Guidance and Counseling Services on the Self-Efficacy of Children Living in Orphanages in Bungoma County

Benson M. Nasongo; James Kay; Bernard Chemwei - Editon Consortium Journal of Psychology, Guidance, and Counseling (ECJPGC), 25 Aug 2019

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of individual guidance and counselling services on the self-efficacy of orphaned children living in orphanages in Bungoma County, Kenya.

The contribution of mentoring to the life skills of youth leaving care in Israel

Yafit Sulimani‐Aidan, Eran Melkman, Johanna K.P. Greeson - Child & Family Social Work, 08 Aug 2019

The goal of this study was to examine the contribution of natural mentoring to the improvement of life skills among youth in care in core areas of education, employment, and avoidance of risk behaviours while controlling for personal characteristics and placement history.

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