title: "Straight up": enhancing rapport and therapeutic alliance with previously-detained youth in the delivery of mental health services.
abstract: A strong therapeutic alliance has been shown to improve mental health treatment outcomes in adults, but this topic has not been fully explored with youth. Adolescents, particularly justice-involved youth, stand to benefit greatly from an improved treatment experience. One quality which can improve treatment is mental health providers' interpersonal skills when attempting to build a therapeutic rapport with adolescent clients. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 youth who screened positive for mental health concerns while in juvenile detention. Four themes were identified as important to improving the therapeutic alliance: Empathy, client-directed care, sequencing, and positive rapport. Suggestions for strengthening a therapeutic alliance are provided.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Work, University of Wisconsin, 800 Algoma Boulevard, Oshkosh, WI, 54901, USA, brownj@uwosh.edu.
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Evan D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Holloway
authors.forename: Tohoro F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Akakpo
authors.forename: Matthew C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Aalsma
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D003376:Counseling; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D009629:Person-Centered Psychotherapy; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use; D036301:Qualitative Research
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs