| Abstract: | Summary Recently there has been considerable debate concerning the useof child guidance/psychiatric services. There is a lack of consumerstudies in this area, despite opinion that such studies areessential in the evaluaton of these services. This paper considersthe expectations and experiences of ten families who attendedtheir local child guidance clinic. These families had attendedthe clinic for no more than six appointments before termination.Most parents had expectations which conflicted with those ofclinic staff. The only three families whose expectations concurredwith clinic practice had had previous experience of the helpingprofessions. Overall less than half the families feltthey had been helped and this seems related to the differencesbetween their expectations and experiences. The clinic's andthe families' opinions concerning the helpfulness of clinicintervention do not always coincide, nor do their reasons fortermination. Ideas for preparation of families prior to attendingthe clinic and for modification of treatment by clinic staffare considered. |
