Creating a Peer-Directed Environment: An Approach to Making Residential Treatment a Unique Experience by Using the Power of Peer Groups.

The creation of a safe and healthy environment, the establishment of an atmosphere of trust, and the use of a residential treatment group as a powerful force in order to achieve behavior modification of its individual group members-these are the intentions that moved me to undertake the challenge of adopting a peer group methodology, originally designed for work with delinquent adolescents, to a younger, more emotionally disturbed population. I did so during my affiliation with ILEX (International Learning Exchange in Social Education) and the Edgewood Children’s Center in San Francisco 1999/2000. The following article will present how I introduced and established this group methodology, “Positive Group Interaction” (PGI), to my residence unit in the course of a year as the basis of that unit’s approach to working with its children. All observations are based on the specific group setting I worked in. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]