The Good Lives Model among detained female adolescents

Female adolescents constitute a very vulnerable and challenging, yet understudied, minority within the criminal justice system. Up to now, problem-oriented risk management approaches, such as the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model, are still the most widely used rehabilitation frameworks. More recently, strength-based rehabilitation frameworks, such as the Good Lives Model (GLM), have received increased attention in guiding treatment of detained female adolescents. In the current paper, we explore the relevance and applicability of the GLM in the particular population of detained female adolescents, based on a critical reflection on the theoretical, empirical and clinical evidence available in the scientific literature. First, we argue that the GLM can help to overcome the RNR model's ethical, etiological and clinical limitations, thereby improving rehabilitation theory and effective practice for detained female adolescents. Second, we believe this model, given its holistic and person-centred approach, can be easily extended to this population, however not without taking into account particular developmental and gender issues. Third, we believe the GLM, as a rehabilitation framework, can easily “wrap around” existing evidence-based treatment programs for detained female adolescents, which, overall, are recommended to include a multidimensional, systemic and gender-responsive component. In addition, we think that the different phases of GLM-informed rehabilitation can be easily applied to this particular population. Finally, the application of the GLM among detained female adolescents entails some important research-related, practice-related and normative challenges.