Adolescent inpatient treatment: a literature review

This review summarizes many of the major issues and findings appearing over the last 40 years in the descriptive, theoretical, and experimental literature about adolescent inpatient treatment. The discussion of program design emphasizes the milieu, psychotherapy modalities, and the mixed vs all-adolescent ward controversy. Treatment theory proposes corrective relationships, internalization of external controls and structure, and conflict resolution as the dynamic agents for therapeutic change. There are disputes about whether short or long hospital stays are optimal for these agents to do their work. Despite methodological problems, follow-up research supports the effectiveness of inpatient care for adolescents. Some suggestions are made for improving the understanding of the patient characteristics and treatment ingredients relevant to positive outcome through more comprehensive research questions and collaborative work.