Children´s Forum: an Interview with Eight Children

Abstract

Objective. Childrens forum (CF) is a session for information and inquiry for children between the ages of 2 and 18 whose parents are in-patients at the psychiatric ward. The aim and scope of this study was to investigate the usefulness of CF for the children, six to eight months after participating. Method. Eight children, ages 10 – 16 were interviewed. All of the interviews (semi-structured and theme-oriented) were done in the family’s home without the parent (s) being present. Results. The results showed considerable improvement in the areas of communication and relational skills between parent and child. Conclusion. The improvements that have taken place can be directly linked to the CF program content: the acquisition of knowledge, vocabulary, and concepts along with skills in the ability to apply their new insights in communication about taboo-laden topics.