Goals For Clarita's Treatment

The goals for Clarita’s treatment form three phases and will be achieved over the course of one year through weekly sessions. The treatment plan outlines sessions for Clarita as individual and for her mother in a group setting (Cohen, Mannarino, & Deblinger, 2016; Green & Myrick, 2014; Orlans & Levy, 2014; Moretti, Obsuth, Craig, & Bartolo, 2014; Reinecke & Simons, 2005; Steele & Steele, 2017):
Phase 1: Stabilization and Safety (4 months): The goals of this first phase are:
a) To ensure that Clarita is safe, and she is not acting on any self-destructive thoughts or dreams (as measured through conversations with school counsellor during daily check-ins).
b) To understand and manage symptoms by reducing acting out behaviours, and increasing
Clarita’s mother, Terceira, to attend parental group sessions that uses the CONNECT model (“Connect”, n.d.; Steele & Steele, 2017) whereby Terceira participate in group sessions once a month with other parents who have children who exhibit behaviour concerns. The group will become a safe haven for Terceira, building a network of support for her through the treatment process. Through a number of sessions, Terceira will:
• Learn that all behaviour has meaning, and that Clarita’s behaviour is a language to communicate her attachment needs. Through activities like role play, Terceira will consider alternative meanings of Clarita’s behaviour.
• Discuss how attachment needs are expressed differently depending on the developmental state of the child. Terceira will be prompted to reflect on her personal attachment history and the extent to which their attachment needs were meet by their parents (“Connect”, n.d.; Steele & Steele, 2017).
• Understand that conflict is part of attachment. Terceira will learn to reframe Clarita’s behaviours as an expression of needs. She will be supported in learning to regulate her own response and to maintain connection even through a conflict period (“Connect”, n.d.; Steele & Steele,
To build this relationship, Clarita will be invited to create a comfortable place to meet with the counsellor, a “Breathing Space” (Bennett, Le, Lindahl, Wharton, Mak, 2017). Clarita may also response well to the sharing of music with the counsellor (like, discussing and listening to favourite artists and styles), so that a connection can be made (Bennett, Le, Lindahl, Wharton, & Mak, 2017). Similarly, art can be used to help engage Clarita and some counsellors have used a collage project to initiate storytelling (Bennett, Le, Lindahl, Wharton, & Mak, 2017). If Clarita is like many other older teens, social media is likely quite familiar tool and by viewing her social media profile together, the counsellor will be able to talk about the pictures and information in a non-threatening way (Bennett, Le, Lindahl, Wharton, & Mak,