Working With Suicidal Adolescents and Their Families Within a Specialized Group Home

This article describes the Bourbonniere Unit, which is a specialized group home in Montreal with a short-term intensive therapeutic program. The belief behind the program is that a circular pattern has developed in the family, supported by all family members, which must be broken to help the suicidal youth. The author outlines the group process, treatment & discharge procedures. The group is peer-based, operating on a hierarchical basis with the youths in the program longest holding senority.