According to the Federal Register (1977), the "emotionally disturbed" child suffers from a condition in which one of the following five characteristics have occurred to a marked degree for a long period of time:
(1) an inability to learn which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors;
(2) an inability to build or maintain satisfactory relationships with peers and teachers;
(3) inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances;
(4) a general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression;
(5) a tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.
Also, the Federal Register (1977) reports that the term "seriously emotionally disturbed" includes all of the listed characteristics and also schizophrenic and autistic children but not socially maladjusted children unless they exhibit one or more of the just listed characteristics.
When behavior associated with serious emotional disturbance becomes too unmanageable or too disturbed for parents or teachers to handle, children are frequently placed in residential treatment centers (Gelfand, Jenson & Drew, 1982). Of residential treatment centers, Knopf (1984) reports:
These vary widely in size, philosophy, goals, and methods but as a milieu approach they all provide children with greater tolerance and consistency as well as with firm control. (p.169).
The assertion of control in residential treatment is also mentioned by Redl (1972) who compiled a list of characteristics which define the effective residential treatment facility. These characteristics include well-defined roles, responsibilities, pecking order, routines, rituals, and regulations.
According to Redl what makes roles, responsibilities, regulations, and so forth work effectively is that the effective residential treatment center places them in the context of the facility's therapeutic goals. This therapeutic context is...