Where can a parent get a holistic approach for their child’s mental health challenges? A model of delivering help, entitled wraparound, was formulated to deliver the much needed help by coordinating the professional services of doctors, therapists, social workers and bureaucrats under one umbrella of service.
History of Wraparound
In 1980, Dr. Lenore Behar, coined the term wraparound to identify an ideology of delivering much needed services to families facing difficulties with their children in the home environment, school environment and community.
Dr. Behar “defined “Wraparound” as a way to “surround multi-problem youngsters and families with services rather than with institutional walls, and to customize these services to the individual needs and strengths of the child and family."
The idea of wraparound is to provide mental health services in the places where the child exhibits negative behaviors. The key to wraparound is the process. Instead of parent and children being subjected to the professional advice imposed upon them they become actively involved in the decision making process.
The age of a candidate for wraparound services ranges between birth and 21 years old.
The Community of Players
The community of players that can wraparound the child, the parent and the family is growing each year. A goal of having community involvement is to take what has been kept in isolation and integrate it into the mainstream of society.
Rather than treat the child/adolescent client in a bubble this method brings strategies for parents to teach their children to cope within the world in which they will eventually be expected to live.
Parents and family can take many forms: biological parents; adoptive parents; foster parents and agencies that have been granted with temporary custody through court proceedings. Parental input is valued as services are delivered in the home where the primary disruptive behaviors occur.
Academic institutions are the primary source for educating children for success in life. The academic arena where wraparound services can be provided may include day care providers; pre-schools learning centers; primary, intermediate and high schools; alternative schools; and, out-patient residential settings.
The academic setting is a secondary arena for the delivery of services for two reasons: the clients need assistance to perform successfully in their academic pursuits and they need guidance to become successful socially with their peers and authority figures.
The medical professionals may include a child’s primary care physician, pediatrician, physical therapist, occupational therapist, and psychiatrist. Medical professionals provide valuable information for parents or guardians to make a well-informed decision on the impact that medication can have on a client.
The mental health industry professionals may include social workers, psychologists, therapist and counselors. The mental health professionals coordinate information from these varying sources to construct a treatment plan that includes strategies and interventions to be used to modify a client's current behavior.
Social organizations such as special interest groups, social activist groups and professional associations play a major role in the dissemination of information, as well as providing support to parent, families and the community at large.
How to Get Started
The process of initiating wraparound services is a parent admitting that there is a problem with their child. When they realize that they cannot manage their child with the social skills they currently possess it is time to seek help.
The beginning of services will involve an evaluation of the child’s behavior at home; in school or as a result of an incident in the public arena. There are numerous evaluation tools available to assess the mental, emotional and psychological challenges of a child and then have them referred for help.
The main goal of wraparound mental health services is to coordinate professional help for the client with the parent and family having vital input every step along the way.
Sources:
Lenore Behar. Retrieved from http://www.lenorebehar.com/wraparound.html
Samuel Means - Samuel Means is pastor and counselor who works toward helping families find the resources they need to build strong positive ...
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