Partnering with Youth and Families

The Institute of Medicine's (IOM) 2001 Report on the Quality of Health Care in America outlines the importance of partnering with families to provide person-centered care. This report calls for bringing youth and families into the decision-making process, and for valuing and soliciting their input. As noted in the IOM's 2006 report on Improving the Quality of Care for Mental and Substance-Use Conditions , "decision making is less relevant if the only choice presented is that between one treatment or no treatment," (p. 105).

For an evidence-based culture to take root in one's practice, community, and/or agency, practitioners, youth, and families must actively build a collaborative relationship to identify the best treatment options available. Limited time to spend with clients, inadequate resources, and agency productivity quotas make it challenging to meet the needs of youth and their families.

Learning how to partner more effectively with youth and families is essential to developing a trusting relationship where youth and families can be heard and their wishes incorporated into treatment planning.

Practitioners can ask the following helpful questions during initial visits with youth and families:

• How can I be of help to you and your family?
• How do you define your problem?
• Who is your family?
• How do you identify culturally/racially/ethnically?
• How can I be sensitive to your cultural needs?
• What do you hope to accomplish from your experience, treatment, services?
• Provide a list of some of your strengths
• What are your hopes and dreams for the future?

*(adapted from Adams & Grieder, 2005, p.8)

Helpful Links:

• The Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, a national advocacy group with local offices in several states, offers information on partnering with families.
• The National Directory of Family-Run and Youth Guided Organizations for Children's Mental Health provides an extensive listing of family-run and youth-run organizations in the United States , US Territories, and Tribal Nations.

References

Adams, N., & Grieder, D.M. (2005). Treatment Planning for Person-Centered Care: The road to mental health and addiction recovery. Burlington , MA : Elsevier Academic Press

McKay, M., Hibbert, R., Hoagwood, K., Rodriguez, J., Murray, L., Legereski, & Fernandez, D. (2004). Integrating evidence-based engagement interventions into "real world" child mental health settings. Brief treatment and crisis intervention, 4(2), 177-176.