From a culture of violence to a culture of hope: Creating Sanctuary in a residential treatment facility

Michael G Kramer, Fordham University

Abstract

The goal of this exploratory study is to gain a deeper insight into why the full-system intervention Sanctuary Model is effective with a population of court-committed male adolescents in a residential treatment facility that is a preferred provider within the Sanctuary Network. The Sanctuary Model is a trauma-focused, trauma-sensitive, organizational change model, and treatment protocol approach to working with clients who have experienced traumas and chronic stress to the degree that these traumas and chronic stressors interfere with social and personal functioning. To gain a deeper understanding as to the "why" and "how" of Sanctuary's effectiveness as an agent of change within this residential setting, qualitative research methods are employed to explore the residential treatment center's perspectives through: observations; content analysis of agency documents; focus groups with staff and residents, and individual interviews with staff. The substantive theory that emerges from the research is that neurological and relational integration occurs in the lives of residents as shaped by the level of interpersonal relationships that they experience with staff, especially with youth care staff, within a therapeutic milieu that also shapes the organizational culture.

Subject Area

Social work

Recommended Citation

Kramer, Michael G, "From a culture of violence to a culture of hope: Creating Sanctuary in a residential treatment facility" (2013). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI3558183.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI3558183

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