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Standardized Individual Therapy: a Contradiction in Terms?

Professional principles and social practices in Danish residential care

The Danish National Centre for Social Research, te{at}sfi.dk

Turf Böcker Jakobsen

The Danish National Centre for Social Research

This article explores a paradox that was identified during an ethnographic study of two Danish therapeutic residential institutions for children with emotional and behavioural problems. The key objective of these institutions is to provide specialized treatment for the individual child. However, the task of organizing everyday life for a group of troubled children is so demanding that little room is left for individualization. In practice, treatment takes the shape of a rather standardized package. Analysing individual treatment as a powerful kind of `institutional thinking', the authors delve into the meaning of an apparent contradiction in terms: standardized individual therapy.

Key Words: child protection • children with mental health problems • individual treatment • institutional ethnography • residential childcare • therapeutic regime

Childhood, Vol. 16, No. 2, 265-282 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0907568209104405


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