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a Studyy'f Spiritual Carefmong Boys
pResidential Care
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A Disse*atien
presented to
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for the Degree
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Diane Heaton Schmitt
May 2009
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Diane Heaton Schmitt
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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This professional project completed by
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has been presented to and accepted by the
faculty of Claremont School of Theology in
partial fulfillment of the requirements of the
DocToR oF MINISTRY
Faculty Committee
Kathleen J. Greider, Chairperson
Karen Dalton
Dean of the Faculty
Dennis R. MacDonald
}i4ay 2009
Due to extenuating circumstances, final edits were not completed for this project.
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Abstract
A Study Of Spiritual Care Among Boys In Residential Care
by
Diane Heaton Schmitt
Would the creation and implementation of a spiritual care program on the
McKinley Children's Center campus reduce the incidents and severity of the negative and
often self-destructive behaviors of the severely emotionally disturbed, abused, and
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traumatized boys living The spiritual care progr¿ùm that this project
describes considers the discipline of pastoraUspirituat care through the lenses of trauma
and attachment theory. Cenhal to this project is the assumption that spiritual care has the
capacity to create attachment healing in traumatized boys. The supposition is that once
attachment healing begins, the need to engage in negative, selÊdestructive behaviors will
diminish. The outcomes of this project appeff to uphold that assumption given the
reduction in the occunences of the most severe behaviors. However, the outcomes for
the less severe behaviors showed an increase in their occrrrences, putting the initial
assumption in question. Therefore, the concluding suggestions for further investigation
into ttre viability of the outcomes are appropriate.
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Table of Contents
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Chapter o*.r'-
1. Understanding theNeed tor/Evolution of McKinley Children's Center 18
2. Review of Spiritual Care in Selected Residential Settings 27
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3. Theoretical Resources in Trauma Theory, Attachment Theory, Spiritual 37
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4. Design and Description of MCC's Spiritual Care Program 68
5. Methodology and Results 77
6. Summary and Future Research 88
Appendices 97
Bibliography r07
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Introduction
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The Problem and fly¡rothesis
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Boys in residential, out-oÊhome care at McKinley Children's Center (MCC) engage in
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negative and often selÊdestructive behaviors. This project investigates the hypothesis that a
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,f/ spiritual care program will diminish the occrurences of negative and self-destructive behaviors
by these boys.'
The Importance of the Problem
MCC is a level twelve residential care facility that houses up to sixty-six abused and
severely emotionally disturbed (SED) boys aged six through eighteen. As with most residential
care facilities, MCC's goal is to help its residents manage their behaviors and heal their
psychosocial and spiritual wounds so that they function well enough to move to a less restrictive
level of care and contribute positively to society. Similar types of residential care facilities exist
all over the world; hence, while this project will focus specifically on MCC, the problem -and
presumably the need-is global.
The boys at MCC are not living there by choice; their county's social services have sent
them there to escape the abuse or neglect inflicted on them at home. The food, shelter, clothing,
a bed to sleep in, and a safe living environment that most of us can take for granted are not
available to these boys. Their behavior reflects this.
Through my years of serving children, I have learned that their behavior reflects their
feelings. When children feel loved, nurtured, and safe, they flourish. When they do not, they act
out in self-destructive, negative ways. Unfortunately, safe, nurturing environments rarely occur
in residential gare. I say this as a professional; I am the executive director of treatment at MCC,
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a licensed local pastor in the United Methodist Church, a credentialedK-12 school counselor,
and a licensed marriage and family therapist specializing in adolescents and addiction.
If the boys of MCC indeed act out the woundedneìs acquired in their abusive upbringing
by engaging in negative and often self-destructive behaviors, and if residential care facilities do
not provide the opportunity to change this, then this thwarts the goal of helping these boys move
to a less restrictive and therefore presumably more nurturing living environment. A child who
continually engages in these negative and often self-destructive behaviors is rarely offered the
opportunity to move to a less restrictive living environment; it is the child who has learned to
manage his or her behavior and act in a more positive and constructive manner who is ofTered
the opportunity instead. For the child who is not chosen to move, this simply reinforces the
hopelessness of his or her situation, and the cycle of negative aná destructive behavior continues
with increased vigor.
However, if the child can find a way to reduce his negative, often self-destructive
behaviors, such as by participating in a spiritual care program ofÏered on campus, and regain
some hope of moving to a less restrictive environment, maybe even home, then the child can
often more quickly achieve the goals of residential care.
Thesis Statement
By participating in a spiritual care prograrn on the MCC crrmpus, children fulfill some of
their previously unmet psychospiritual needs. One way of measuring this is in a decrease in their
negative and often self-destructive behaviors.
In this project, I propose that increasing a child's spiritual life enhances their ability to
form and maintain attachments, an ability that abuse has often stymied, which is therefore
particularly important to foster among children who have experienced trauma. Lack of
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