Rules for Residential Treatment Centers
The biggest difference between residential treatment centers and home life is a whole new list of rules. These rules help ensure safety, consistency, and better lives for the teens. Rules covering hygiene, behavior, and peer interaction are very common. This article will discuss the rules and guidelines for residential treatment centers.
In the years I worked in residential treatment centers I found many interesting rules. Some of them were necessary and some of them were a bit excessive. Let me discus the standard rules first.
Peer Interactions: Common rules involve not stealing, assaulting, or mentally abusing peers. Most of these are a given. Teens are encouraged to get along with peers and work with them in groups to overcome specific issues they are facing. The set of rules establishing good behavior among peers is standard. If a program is co-ed (both boys and girls) there are additional rules that govern what acceptable behavior is. Beyond the occasional romantic ‘flare-up’ I never saw much inappropriate behavior.
Chores: The only service given to teens on a daily basis is that their meals are prepared for them. Everything else, like laundry, making their bed, and cleaning up after them selves is their responsibility. In the wilderness camp nature would delve out punishments for those that didn’t clean their mess kit or didn’t dry out a sleeping bag. In the residential treatment center that discipline was given through the staff. In some cases the rules are very strict and demanding. They require absolute organization in dresser drawers and a perfect hospital corner in the corner of each bed. After a teen adjusts to the new standards they aren’t hard to keep up or remember.
Structure: Structure is the name given to type of rules that encourage conformity and organization. The “C” word (conformity) is not very popular and carries with it a negative connotation. But structure in there to level the playing field and to help the kids focus on the issues they were sent to work out. Structure rules include tucking in a shirt, wearing a belt, walking in a line to and from activities, not talking, and paying strict attention. If absolute structure isn’t adhered to the offending teen is corrected with constant nonnegotiable consequences. These consequences aren’t harmful or degrading. Their effectiveness comes through constant unwavering pressure. Much like the changing power of wind has on the face of the hardest rocks. This discipline works because its always there and doesn’t go away.
Some rules, I admit, leave the teen and the parents scratching their heads. Every treatment center has years and years of experience in working with troubled teens. Over the years some teens have tried a variety of deviant or destructive behaviors. In response the treatment center has made a broad rule to counter that specific behavior. Because treatment centers bring in a variety of teens with emotional and physiological issues not every rule makes sense in every case. With that aside the safety and well being is valued above any thing else.
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