Therapeutic Alliance - Philosophy

CAPA is all about making services accessible and engaging people in change. We know that young people and their parents want services that listen to them, give individual attention and staff who speak with them in a straightforward way, not using technical jargon (National CAMHS Review, 2008). They want to feel valued and have the opportunity to discuss what services and interventions are available.

The key aim of CAPA is to privilege the young person’s and family’s viewpoint and choices. We do this by adopting a stance of ‘facilitator with expertise’ in all contacts. We do not want the experience of coming to CAMHS to be one of passively visiting an expert who asks questions and delivers a verdict. Instead, we want it to feel collaborative, accessible, useful and facilitative. This means using ordinary everyday language, working to understand the family’s view of their world and problems, reaching a shared understanding and agreeing goals to work on.

We want them to understand what their issues are and what may help- and what part CAMHS could play. Knowing how CAMHS is going to help, what to expect and understanding what is going on is associated with engagement (Atride-Stirling et al, 2004).

This philosophy is not limited to the first appointment.

We make sure we always focus on:

This applies as much after the 50th session or the first.

We call this working in a Choice framework and it is one of the 11 Key Components of CAPA. Through the Choice Framework we are aiming to enhance Therapeutic Alliance…