LIFE Crisis intervention

LIFE, a center for crisis intervention, is an innovative treatment offer that was implemented in Zurich following the example of Malatavie in Geneva, on the initiative and with the support of Children Action | Fondation | Genève, Suisse. LIFE combines inpatient, day-clinic and outpatient treatment methods under one roof. The offer is characterized by the guarantee of continuity of the treatment team during the entire treatment phase as well as by the resource-oriented and systemic approach. It is aimed at adolescents aged 13 to 18 in psychosocial crises who require treatment in a timely manner. With eight inpatient beds and six places in the day clinic, LIFE treats around 100 patients per year.

LIFE's services are supported by an accompanying research project (funded by the Heuberg Foundation), which aims to evaluate the treatment and characterize both the resilience and stress factors in the adolescents and their environment in a multidimensional way. After one year, the accompanying evaluation showed that the treatment is very effective using national quality assurance indicators.

In addition to clinical parameters, psychometric instruments are used to collect data on the young people's individual protection and risk factors from their own perspective and from the perspective of their parents and therapists. Another focus is on the use of Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to collect data in real time. A sub-sample of around 80 adolescents answer questions on mood, perceived social support, stress and context several times a day over a short period of time via an app, while passive data such as screen activity or movement is recorded in the background. This enables a precise investigation of changes in the relevant parameters and their dynamics over time. The analyses are carried out using advanced statistical methods such as network analysis, which allows the investigation of complex relationships between variables and the identification of predictors.

The combination of these methods provides a deep insight into the processes of mental health in young people and allows effective intervention strategies for psychosocial crises to be further developed in a targeted manner. The knowledge gained contributes to the improvement of existing treatment services and the development of preventive measures in the area of adolescent mental health.

Life introduces itself - crisis intervention for adolescents (Video)