Residential treatment for youth: introduction and a cautionary tale

This special issue addresses an area in child and adolescent mental health which has suffered from significant neglect, that of residential treatment. Though the American Orthopsychiatric Association contributed to the development of the principles of residential treatment fifty years ago, we find ourselves in the midst of a national crisis on how this level of care is implemented in the field. This article summarizes the major themes of the special issue, as well as reports on the editor's cautionary experience with major problems in one residential facility.