© British Association of Social Workers
A Study of Families' Expectations and Experiences of a Child Guidance Clinic
Charlotte Burck did a year's placement at a child guidance clinic while a student at the London School of Economics where she obtained an M.Sc. in Social Work and Social Administration. She had previously worked for several years at Friern Hospital and Halliwick House. At present she works in the Department of Psychological Medicine in the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street and is employed by the London Borough of Camden.
Summary
Recently there has been considerable debate concerning the use of child guidance/psychiatric services. There is a lack of consumer studies in this area, despite opinion that such studies are essential in the evaluaton of these services. This paper considers the expectations and experiences of ten families who attended their local child guidance clinic. These families had attended the clinic for no more than six appointments before termination. Most parents had expectations which conflicted with those of clinic staff. The only three families whose expectations concurred with clinic practice had had previous experience of the ‘helping professions’. Overall less than half the families felt they had been helped and this seems related to the differences between their expectations and experiences. The clinic's and the families' opinions concerning the helpfulness of clinic intervention do not always coincide, nor do their reasons for termination. Ideas for preparation of families prior to attending the clinic and for modification of treatment by clinic staff are considered.
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