Children who reside in foster care face different challenges. Most are related to developmental needs, attachment issues, and cultural background challenges that affect their growth and development. Children in foster care should be subjected to therapeutic support groups to help alleviate these problems. For this to work, a proposal is needed for all avenues and needs to be addressed. Therefore, this proposal outlines a plan to create a therapeutic support group for the children to manage their psychological well-being and emotional status.
Assessment of Developmental Needs
Ensuring improved development of the children requires a careful evaluation of developmental needs. Mainly, this can be achieved using a combination of methods. One of these techniques is the use of child developmental assessments. The foster home should consider conducting initial evaluations of the children to understand their developmental milestones. Primarily, this will enable the facility to document and note the child’s challenges concerning their development. As part of the assessment process, there is a need to hold interviews with those who take direct care of the children, review medical records, and consult with the child’s psychology. All these form part of assessment procedures of a child’s developmental needs. The benefit of assessing is that it allows for easy tracking of the developmental needs of the children in foster care, hence allowing for the determination of the most appropriate intervention measures.
As part of the assessment of developmental needs, there is a need to be involved in observation and play therapy. Technically, this means observing the children’s behavior in play mode. Play therapy can help in providing valuable insights into their social and emotional growth and development (Thompson, 2011). With observation and play therapy strategies, the assessor can quickly note developmental issues among the children. They can evaluate the children who seclude themselves and those who are increasingly involved in risky activities, which are signs of developmental needs in children. Thompson (2011) argued that children tend to be their typical selves when interacting and playing with others. Thus, this helps to explain why observation and play therapy are recommended strategies for assessing developmental issues.
Lastly, the feedback from caregivers and caseworkers could help determine developmental issues in the children within the foster care facility. Open communication significantly enables caregivers and caseworkers to acquire information about a child’s progress. The caregivers know different issues facing a child; some may not even be aware of what is normal or abnormal in a child’s growth. As such, holding interviews would help an assessor to know the different behaviors portrayed by each child, and it can be easy to identify developmental problems.
Evaluation of Attachment Styles
Identifying attachment styles is as integral as identifying the developmental needs of children in foster care. Typically, understanding attachment styles provides room for tailored interventions (Wittenborn et al., 2012). Different methods could be implemented to evaluate attachment styles. One of these methods is conducting interviews on attachment. These interviews should be performed on caregivers and caseworkers. They would help shed light on the different attachment experiences and history of each child, making it easy to identify a child in need of interventions.
Further, observing attachment behaviors is also another evaluation technique for attachment issues. This entails analyzing how a child interacts with the caregivers during group sessions to identify attachment patterns. Aside from that, standardized attachment questionnaires and evaluations would be critical in measuring attachment styles. As Flores (2018) argued, the attachment system serves three functions: regulating proximity to caregivers during stressful times, providing safety, comfort, and security, and developing a secure place that enhances exploration. Based on this overview, these techniques for evaluating attachment would be critical in enabling the assessor to identify the children needing interventions.
Structuring the Group
Once attachment and developmental needs have been identified among the children, the next step is to structure the group based on the results obtained. For the foster home, a mixed-age group structure would be appropriate. Mainly, this means categorizing the children based on their age. The reason for selecting a mixed-age group structure is to allow for developmental diversity. Primarily, this means that children of different developmental stages can learn from and support each other. More so, this structuring would help in enhancing attachment dynamics. The structure allows for the accommodation of different attachment styles. It creates a supportive climate where children can learn healthy attachment tendencies based on and suitable for their age (Flores, 2018). Lastly, a mixed-age group structure allows for social learning; the older children can be role models for the younger ones. In this regard, this could lead to a sense of mentorship and community belonging. From these reasons discussed, a mixed-age group structure would be appropriate.
Interventions
Different therapeutic interventions could help in tailoring the needs of the children. One of the solutions is expressive arts therapy, which involves using art, music, or drama to help encourage self-expression. It also helps the children in fostering emotional processing. Expressive arts therapy will help children to express themselves more, and one can quickly assess the reasons behind their attachment and developmental needs. It also allows children to talk about their underlying issues, ultimately leading to emotional processing guidance. Cognitive behavior therapy could also be of help. Mainly, this is an intervention that involves the teaching of coping skills and emotional regulation. The technique could allow for the addressing of trauma-related symptoms.
Cultural Sensitivity
While dealing with the children, there is a need to maintain cultural sensitivity. First, staff members at the children’s facility must have ongoing training. Mainly, this will help in improving their cultural competence and overall sensitivity. At the same time, cultural liaisons or interpreters would help bridge any language barrier problems that would likely come into play in such a situation with children from different cultures and ethnic groups. Aside from that, literature, art, and resources that represent people of diverse backgrounds of the children in care are critical for cultural sensitivity to be maintained throughout. However, while adhering to the strategies mentioned is vital, there is a need to maintain respect for diversity. Respect will allow for incorporating diverse cultural traditions and rituals in the group where needed.
Conclusion
Therapeutic support is needed in foster care. Notably, children in foster care face different issues, and therapy is an opportunity that would help in addressing their developmental, attachment, and cultural needs. Mainly, this report comprises a proposal that provides a safe and supportive environment that fosters growth, thriving, and healing in patients. Different methods can be employed to identify the developmental needs of the children. Also, it is critical to determine the attachment styles employed by the children and use therapy to alleviate them and provide them with the needed help. As proposed, a mixed-age group structure would be necessary to address the needs of the children throughout the therapeutic process.
References
Flores, P. J. (2018). Group psychotherapy and neuro-plasticity: An attachment theory perspective*. The Interpersonal Neurobiology of Group Psychotherapy and Group Process, 51-72. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429482120-3
Thompson, E. H. (2011). The evolution of a children’s domestic violence counselling group: Stages and processes. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 36(3), 178-201. https://doi.org/10.1080/01933922.2011.578118
Wittenborn, A. K., Faber, A. J., & Keiley, M. K. (2012). An attachment and affect regulation-based multiple couple group intervention for couples transitioning to marriage/Commitment. Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, 11(3), 189-204. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332691.2012.692941
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