A Descriptive Analysis of the Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School for Emotionally Disturbed Children

Abstract

The material presented in this paper is a synthesis of the articles on the treatment of children, by Dr. Bruno Bettelheim and others, contained in the bibliography, as well as my experiences during the three months I spent working and observing at the Orthogenic School. Consequently, my personal bias must be considered as an important factor throughout the paper. In describing the Orthogenic School I have dealt with the areas of physical setting, care of the children, and training of the staff. I have not gone into much detail on theory, as would be possible, particularly in the area of child care, since Dr. Bettelheim has covered many of these aspects in depth in his books. I have used personal experiences for my examples in the hope of clarifying some of my points and transmitting some feeling for the application of treatment principles in actual situations.