Myth or Reality
Using "levels or "phases" of treatment progress contributes to youth success.
MYTH. Identifying levels of success or "growth" is counter to meeting an individual where they are currently at. Some individuals will potentially never achieve the same level of function / self-control as others, making it difficult to impossible to ever achieve the "same standards."
The more rules we establish, the more negative behaviors we have to contend with.
TRUTH. More rules does not translate to more control in a situation. More rules requires more external control that then often creates negative relationships.
Youth are purposeful, manipulative, and trying to get away with something.
MYTH. Youth are doing the best they know how to survive, using the only skills they know how to use.
We can only control ourselves and the environment.
TRUTH. We cannot and do not control another person. You generally only have control over yourself. In our treatment setting, we control the environment and ourselves. Your decisions and response will generally make things better or worse.
Youth need to learn how to deal with the real world. We cannot respond differently than the way the real world will respond.
MYTH. Our youth have already demonstrated that they cannot function adaptively in the "real world" so replicating real world environments will only reinforce maladaptive behavior. To prepare out youth for the "real world," we must develop their skill sets by meeting the youth where that are at functionally and helping them work upwards.