NCJ Number
216668
Journal
Journal of Emotional Abuse Volume: 6 Issue: 2/3 Dated: 2006 Pages: 135-154
Date Published
2006
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This article presents a view of one residential treatment center (RTC) from an antiracist perspective, highlighting the relationship between power, privilege, and race in that system.
Abstract
The facility is in the suburbs north of New York City. Its residents are girls and boys who range in age from 10 to 18. They come mainly from the boroughs of New York City. Residents receive a variety of treatments, including psychotherapy (individual, group, and family therapy); milieu and recreational therapy; and drug and alcohol treatment. The RTC is staffed by 161 employees. Over the past 6 years, the RTC has been implementing Sanctuary, a trauma-based model that uses therapeutic community to create a safe environment in which residents can heal from traumatic experiences. The RTC is at the beginning stages of a cultural change initiated by the Sanctuary Model and facilitated by a commitment to antiracist practices. The RTC continues to diversify its staff. All clinical and milieu staff are required to complete training on issues of race, ethnicity, class, and cultural competence. Residents will soon be starting a social justice organizing group, so they can change the systems that have oppressed them. The application of Sanctuary's assumptions provides for monitoring the ways that racism and other forms of oppression play a role in the RTC system. Staff members are guided in examining the ways that racism and/or White privilege have had a role in their lives and continue to impact work relationships and the treatment of the children inside a larger racist system and society. 20 references