sess ment and re stor
ative plan ning pro cess
at Mountainbrook is to conduct a
Developmental Audit.
“What oc curs (and how it oc curs) dur -
ing as sess ment and anal y sis sets the tone
for col lab o ra tion in in ter ven tion. In ter ven -
ers fos ter col lab o ra tion when they are
fa cil i ta tors, com mit ted to prob lem-solv ing
and not to as sign ing blame” (Cantrell,
Cantrell, Valore, Jones, & Fecser, 1999, p. 8).
An in take day is ar ranged so that the
par ents and stu dents can begin to build an
al li ance to sup port the child. This day is
not seen as an ap point ment for an as sess -
ment but rather a time to begin to build a
part ner ship with the fam ily in plan ning so -
lu tions. On this day, the fam ily is met by a
coun selor and a so cial his tory is con ducted
with the fam ily. This so cial his tory not only
in cludes de vel op men tal in for ma tion but
also en lists the par ents and/or care givers
to tar get strengths of the stu dent as well
as goals for growth. These strengths are
then used as build ing blocks for in ter ven -
tion plan ning. The stu dent and fam ily are
given a tour of the fa cil ity and are in tro -
duced to teachers, fellow students, and
support staff.
The stu dent meets with the psy chol o -
gist, and an in ter view be gins. This is not a
typ i cal clin i cal in ter view fo cus ing on def i -
cits and di ag nos tic cri te ria but rather a
dis cus sion cen tered on the youth’s story
as viewed in his or her own terms. The in -
tent is to begin to make a con nec tion
be tween the child’s thoughts, emo tions
and cop ing strat e gies. Over the next six
weeks, time is spent build ing rap port and
sup port ing the stu dent in the con struc tion
of his or her unique Developmental Audit
and growth plan.
Form ing Re spect ful Al li ances
An ef fec tive al li ance in volves both per -
sonal traits of the helper and prac tice
ex per tise. Mountainbrook staff are trained
in tech niques to em power youth, lis ten
with gen u ine em pa thy, and gain in sight.
The pro gram en lists the Re sponse Abil ity
Path ways (RAP) model as the pri mary
source of con nect ing with the child
(Brendtro & du Toit, 2005). Ad di tion ally,
each stu dent at the pro gram is as signed a
staff men tor whose pri mary focus is to
take a gen u ine in ter est in this stu dent.
Mountainbrook strives to en list the stu -
dents as part ners rather than as pa tients
(Brendtro & Shahbazian, 2004). Young
peo ple at the cen ter are in vited and en -
cour aged to par tic i pate in the plan ning of
their goals through par tic i pa tion in treat -
ment teams and in di vid ual ed u ca tional
plan ning meet ings. This al li ance and em -
pathic con nec tion helps fur ther gain
in sight into the stu dent’s unique world
(eco sys tem) and think ing (pri vate logic),
both essential components of the Audit.
The power of this al li ance was dem on -
strated to the Mountainbrook team when
a new stu dent’s par ent began cry ing in a
meet ing and dis closed to the team: “This
is the only place that has truly taken the
time to get to know Sarah for who she is
— not just given her an other set of di ag -
no ses.”
Iden ti fy ing Key Con nec tions in the
Ecol ogy
The strengths of the child and of the
peo ple in his or her ecol ogy are an
im por tant focus for anal y sis and
in ter ven tion. Areas of need or prob lems
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offer tar gets for change. Strengths
be come crit i cal el e ments of sup port for
bring ing about those changes. (Cantrell,
Cantrell, Valore, Jones, & Feeser, 1999,
p. 8)
The iden ti fi ca tion of key con nec tions in
the ecol ogy is crit i cal to con duct ing a De -
vel op men tal Audit. To begin this eco log i cal
scan, the Mountainbrook team re views
the stu dent’s re cords. Par tic u lar at ten tion
is given to the child’s so cial ecol ogy. Eco -
log i cal sci ence states that prob lem
be hav ior can not be un der stood in iso la -
tion (Hobbs, 1982). Thus, the fam ily and
stu dent, as well sig nif i cant oth ers (case -
work ers, coun sel ors, teach ers, etc.) in the
stu dent’s life, are in vited to par tic i pate in
form ing a growth plan. By iden ti fy ing con -
nec tions or the need for con nec tions in
the areas of fam ily, peers, school, and
com mu nity, a richer un der stand ing of this
student’s ecology is gained through the
audit.
Clar i fy ing Cop ing Be hav ior
Mountainbrook in cor po rates the use of
func tional be hav ior prin ci ples and the
strat e gies of Life Space Cri sis In ter ven tion
(Long, Wood, & Fecser, 2001) to con -
struct timelines of sig nif i cant events for
the Audit. Through these timelines, one
can often in ter pret the func tion of a be -
hav ior as well as iden tify pat terns and
path ways of cop ing be hav ior. This be -
comes an in stru ment of au then tic
as sess ment pro duced jointly by stu dent
and fa cil i ta tor (Brendtro & Shahbazian,
2004). The stu dent’s cop ing be hav iors are
clar i fied through these timelines and con -
ver sa tions with the stu dent and pri mary
caregivers during the construction of the
Audit.
Ad di tion ally, a model of col lab o ra tive
team prob lem-solv ing called CLEAR is
em ployed (Koehler, 2006). Typ i cally, four
to six weeks after a stu dent en rolls at
Mountainbrook, a C*L*E*A*R meet ing is
con ducted, bring ing to gether the stu dent,
par ents, school ad min is tra tion, teach ers,
and clin i cal staff as well as any other fam ily
mem bers or com mu nity rep re sen ta tives.
Through this meet ing the stu dent’s
strengths are iden ti fied as well as the
Challenges (stress ors) the stu dent faces;
the Logic used when think ing about self,
oth ers, and the world; the Emo tions the
stu dent ex pe ri ences; the Actions the stu -
dents takes; and the Results of the ac tions.
The dis cus sion seeks to turn prob lems
into op por tu ni ties.
The Cir cle of Cour age is a com mon
frame work for iden ti fy ing where the stu -
dent’s cir cle is bro ken, i.e., where needs
are unmet (Brendtro & du Toit, 2005). For
ex am ple, a new stu dent re vealed that she
was a vic tim of aban don ment and sex ual
abuse, some thing she pre vi ously was re -
luc tant to share with pro fes sion als. These
trau matic events led her down a path way
of maladaptive cop ing mech a nisms in clud -
ing sex ual act ing out, sui cide at tempts, and
drug abuse.
This overt act ing out and self-abu sive
be hav ior was used not to as sign a di ag no -
sis but to un der stand and in ter pret this
child’s unmet needs. It also helped her
rec og nize her pat terns of maladaptive
cop ing be hav ior and begin to de velop re -
sil ient cop ing mech a nisms. The stu dent’s
growth plan in cluded:
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