Children’s Reentry to School After Psychiatric Hospitalization: A Qualitative Study

• Published in: School mental health 2024-12, Vol.16 (4), p.1275-1292
• Main Authors: DiGiovanni, Madeline, Acquaye, Amber, Chang-Sing, Erika, Gunsalus, Mary, Benoit, Laelia, Martin, Andrés
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Caregivers; Child and School Psychology; Child Health; Children & youth; Cisgender; Classrooms; Clinical Psychology; Developmental Psychology; Education; Educational Attainment; Educational Environment; Educational Facilities Improvement; Health Needs; Hospitalization; Hospitalized Children; Hospitals; Mental disorders; Mental health; Mental Health Programs; Meta Analysis; Original Paper; Parent Participation; Parent School Relationship; Participant Characteristics; Psychiatric Hospitals; Psychology; Public Schools; Residential Programs; School districts; School environment; School principals; Secondary Schools; Special education; Student Placement; Students; Teacher Aides; Transgender persons
• ISSN: 1866-2625; 1866-2633
• DOI: 10.1007/s12310-024-09692-4

School reentry after inpatient psychiatric hospitalization requires careful coordination between multiple team members to ensure stability across transitions, given documented negative academic and socioemotional impacts in the post-discharge period. Existing investigations are limited by the fact that no articles examine the perspectives of multiple participant types simultaneously. We conducted a qualitative study of multiple children transitioning out of psychiatric hospitalization and their adult reentry team members, utilizing thematic analysis informed by grounded theory. Across 16 semi-structured interviews, we analyzed perspectives from 17 participants: four children, four parents, five school staff, and four hospital staff. We identified four key themes informing an overarching theory: 1) Centering the socioemotional role of school; 2) Clarifying what constitutes good communication; 3) Reconciling multiple sources of authority; and 4) Navigating limitations with creativity. Together, these themes converge into two new theoretical concepts. First, stereovision represents the synthesis of multiple “lines of sight,” which cross to create a densely interactional system. Second, patchworking represents the cobbling together of case-by-case solutions to develop an adequate support plan in the face of multiple limitations or barriers. In conclusion, by incorporating the above four thematic findings into a novel theoretical framework, we argue that when navigating school reentry after psychiatric hospitalization, children and adults must use stereovision and patchworking to create a strong, flexible support fabric. These reflections increase representation of child and adult team member voices in the literature and inform future school–hospital–family partnerships for school reentry after psychiatric hospitalization.