A Survey of Therapeutic Support for Children with Emotional and Behavioural Disturbance (EBD) in Special Schools in the United Kingdom

Abstract

The article presents a report of the results of a questionnaire survey of therapeutic support in 263 schools and units for EBD children in the UK, examining availability and frequency of services provided. Both quantitative and qualitative data are presented and analysed with reference to previous research. The conclusions indicate difficulties in operational definition and practice, the need to analyse closely the role of the educational psychologist and, above all, highlight the failure of the system to provide any expectation of treatment, in the psychological sense, for children diagnosed as presenting emotional and behavioural disturbance.