What’s your success been with Residential Treatment Facilities (RTF)? My son, Devon, has been in 2 group homes and 5 psychiatric residential facilities (PRTF).  They feel like ‘holding tanks’ that have actually made him worse. Unfortunately, they’ve been necessary to keep Devon and my other children safe.

Here’s a great pro and con analysis from IACD. Let me know your thoughts…

Most parents who are considering residential treatment for their children with reactive attachment disorder (RAD) feel depleted. After years of therapy and countless other measures, they often feel as though their children are worse off than before. These families are close to running out of money, time, and support. The people in their lives don’t recognize what truly goes on in their homes. They just don’t get it. The parents themselves know, however, that their entire household suffers as a result. They need help.

The decision to send a child to a residential treatment center (RTC) is difficult (although sometimes that decision is made for parents which is an entirely different topic). To add to the difficulty, most parents are struggling with secondary PTSD as a result of raising children with PTSD. They are in “survival mode” themselves. If you or someone you support is in the midst of making such a decision, consider the following.

Read the Pro’s and Con’s and the complete article here.

Be sure to checkout these op-eds I’ve published on this topic:

I’ve tried the system. It doesn’t work. (My take on the Parkland shooting published by the Sun Sentinel)

Don’t blame workers for psych center woes. (My take on some local RTF abuse published by the Charlotte Observer)