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Preparation for residential treatment: An anticipatory mourning process

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Abstract

This paper discusses the intense emotional bonding between parent and adolescent as it interferes with the adolescent and family's ability to tolerate the physical separation inherent in long-term residential treatment. It describes the mourning process through which both adolescent and parent experience and partially relinquish their attachment to one another in anticipation of the separation. The process is completed when both parent and child accept the need for placement and are ready to accept the possibility of new relationships in the residential treatment setting.

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Reference Note

  • Farley. J.E. (1983). Preparation for residential treatment: The decision making process. Unpublished manuscript.

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Farley, J.E. Preparation for residential treatment: An anticipatory mourning process. Clin Soc Work J 12, 31–42 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00778592

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