Therapeutic Intervention

24/7 is committed to the on-going improvement in therapeutic knowledge, skills and working methods to provide an effective service to all young people.

The practice model at 24/7 is based on the quality of the relationship between the young person and the team member.  Good personal relationships were identified in the Children and Families Select Committee report published on the 20th April 2009, as the most important way to reform the care system:

“We believe that the greatest gains in reforming our care system are to be made in identifying and removing whatever barriers are obstructing the development of good personal relationships and putting in place all possible means of supporting such relationships where they occur” (paragraph 29).

At 24/7, we believe that this relationship should be underpinned by ‘good remedial parenting’ which values the young person’s interests and views, sets boundaries and focuses on the young person’s strengths, skills and qualities (Authoritative Parenting, Baumrind 1991 and 1993).

The Select Committee Report and their inquiry identified the issues and concerns with the care of ‘looked after children’; the work which 24/7 undertakes offers solutions to these issues and concerns.  As part of their induction, each of our team members are supported by a clear and well structured induction training programme.  This ensures that team members are empowered with the psychological theory, knowledge base and skills to understand and respond to the emotional trauma and parental rejection which many looked after young people endure.

We at 24/7 embrace research and the on-going in-house training programme reflects this commitment.

It is a pre-requisite that all interventions provided within 24/7 are designed and delivered in a clearly structured manner which is uniquely tailored to the young person’s specific requirements, which makes for a more effective outcome.

24/7 fully embraces the various schools of thought which are motivated to deal with behaviour change and difficulties young people present with.  By doing so, this enables us to utilise positive aspects of various therapeutic models (although predominantly humanistic) and adapt them so that our delivery is successful in achieving our aims and objectives, in a time efficient and cost effective manner.