Description |
The purpose of this study was to discover common challenges for students enrolled in National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP) member programs, to examine interventions directed at those challenges, to develop preliminary practice standards for this population and setting, and to set a future research agenda for this organization. In order to accomplish these purposes, 11 case studies were collected by the Journal of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (JTSP). These case studies were written by clinicians and focused on students between the ages of 14-19 who had been prior students in NATSP programs. Drawing from a grounded theory approach (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1998), these qualitative case studies were analyzed using the constant comparative method approach (Lincoln & Guba, 1985), generating 10 categories of difficulties for NATSAP students, illuminating common treatment challenges, and describing various treatment interventions for these difficulties. Based on these data, preliminary practice standards were developed, and a future research agenda was formulated. |