Intended For
Social care professionals in a community’s rehabilitation services that support youths aged 6 to 17 years old and their families in a context of negligence or serious behavioural challenges.
Objectives
The Versant program aims to improve the behaviours of youth receiving rehabilitation services, as well as the sense of competence and educational practices of their parents by reinforcing family functioning.
The program specifically targets family organization, family cohesion, problem-solving and family communication, all dynamic components of family functioning in the conceptual map on the topic (Pauzé et al., 2013; Pauzé et al., 2020).
Based On
The Versant Program Is Based on Several Theoretical Foundations:
- The first is the integrative model of family functioning (Pauzé et al., 2017). This model offers a simple and practical tool for social care professionals to support their clinical study in their Versant files.
- By drawing on Bowen family systems theory (Bowen, 1972) and adopting a collaborative approach as a relational stance (Madsen, 2009), this program makes the family the central focus.
- Moreover, the Versant program integrates the concepts of commitment and therapeutic alliance (Sparks and Duncan, 2016), increasing the leverage of psychosocial intervention.
For Youth with Adjustment Difficulties and Their Family
The follow-ups with the families within the framework of the Versant program ultimately aims to prevent placement and help put an end to situations in which the safety or development of a child is in danger.
Essentially, the Versant program aims to improve the behaviours of youth and enhance the sense of competence and educational practices of parents by reinforcing family functioning.
More specifically, the program focuses on improving family organization, family cohesion, problem-solving skills and family communication.
For Social Care Professionals
The Versant program aims to support the clinical practice of social care professionals by standardizing psychosocial service delivery about family functioning.
It specifically aims to:
- Expand the knowledge of rehabilitation teams regarding family systems theory (Bowen, 1972), family functioning, the integrative model of family functioning (Pauzé et al., 2017), the collaborative approach (Madsen, 2009) and the therapeutic alliance (Sparks and Duncan, 2016).
- Develop the right skills and the right attitude in family intervention from these concepts.
- Support the organization in the implementation of uniform and collaborative assessment and intervention practices.
Tier of Intervention
The Versant program offers the appropriate Tier 3 interventions for youth and their families receiving external rehabilitation services in their community.
The Foundations of the Versant Program
The Versant program was established out of the desire of some CISSS and CIUSSS to standardize their rehabilitation services in the community and prevent youth placement by structuring the service offer in the community.
Therefore, it is to meet these needs that the Versant program was launched, based on an evidence-based practice methodology. This approach integrates evidence-based research, the clinical expertise of social care professionals, the implementation context and the characteristics and preferences of the youth and families involved.
Negligence and Behavioural Disturbances: Improving Family Functioning
Negligence and behavioural challenges are common problems in families monitored by youth protection services. Negligence appears as a lack of care at the physical, health and educational levels. These problems disrupt family relationships, generate behavioural challenges, increase the risk of other forms of abuse and can have developmental consequences for the youth.
Serious behavioural challenges are characterized by behaviours that cause physical or psychological harm to oneself or others. However, these challenges (either interiorized or exteriorized) are often symptoms of deeper problems or attempts to satisfy underlying needs.
The link between youth behaviours and parental educational practices has helped guide the development of the Versant program and confront these problems. In other words, these two difficulties influence each other, which draws attention to the importance of considering the family as a resilient system.
As a result, the program focuses on family functioning to address difficulties in an in-depth, sustainable way, instead of simply treating the symptoms.
The goal is to act on relational systems instead of individuals, to maximize the efficiency of family interventions.
What You Get with the Versant Program
The Versant Program at the Experimentation Phase
The Versant program is currently in the experimentation phase in three regions of Québec.
At Boscoville, we are adopting an experimental and research-based approach aimed at verifying the effectiveness of our programs in Québec communities. Before large-scale deployment, we carry out preliminary tests of our programs on a representative sample of various environments, thereby reducing potential errors and increasing the likelihood that our programs are well adapted to the environment in which they will be used.
To achieve this, Boscoville places great importance on feedback from its partners, actively integrating their perspectives to ensure that its programs accurately reflect the reality on the ground. In addition, Boscoville partners with Québec researchers to evaluate the effects and implementation of its programs, ensuring a rigorous and scientific assessment of their validity.
The findings of the researchers should be available in 2024-2025.
Take the Next Steps
Would you like more information about the Versant program?
The Versant Program Across Québec
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Useful Links
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References:
Bowen, M. (1972).
On the Differentiation of Self. In J. Framo (Ed.), Family Interaction: A Dialogue Between Family Researchers and Family Therapists (pp. 111–173). Springer.
Houle, A.-A. (2024).
Training on conceptual maps. Conceptual maps of negligence and family functioning. Conceptual maps project based on the work of Robert Pauzé [2016-2020]. Centre de recherche universitaire sur les jeunes et les familles (CRUJeF), Université Laval.
Houle, A.-A. (February, 2022).
Introduction to conceptual maps. Conceptual maps of negligence and family functioning. Training for Boscoville agents. Conceptual maps project based on the work of Robert Pauzé [2016-2020]. Centre de recherche universitaire sur les jeunes et les familles (CRUJeF), Université Laval.
Madsen, W. C. (2009).
Collaborative Helping: A Practice Framework for Family‐Centered Services. Family Process, 48(1), 103-116.
Pauzé, R. (2020).
Conceptual map of family functioning. State of Knowledge. Conceptual maps project. Centre de recherche universitaire sur les jeunes et les familles (CRUJeF), Université Laval.
Pauzé, R., Cook-Darzens, S., Villeneuve, M.-P., Chateauneuf, D., Petitpas, J., & Côté, J. (2017).
The Evaluation of Family Functioning: A Proposal for an Integrative Model to Support Clinical Practice and Research. Thérapie Familiale, Vol. 38(3), 295-328.
Pauzé, R., & Petitpas, J. (2013).
Assessing Family Functioning: State of Knowledge. Thérapie familiale, 34(1), 11-37.
Sparks, J., & Duncan, B. (2016).
Client Strengths and Resources: Helping Clients Draw on What They Already Do Best. In M. Cooper & W. Dryden (Eds.), Handbook of Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy (p. 68-79).
Researchers
Marie-Claude Simard, Ph. D., t.s.
Associate Professor, Department of Human and Social Sciences, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC).
Ève Pouliot, Ph. D. LL.B.
Associate Professor, Department of Human and Social Sciences, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC).
In collaboration with
