Children, much like adults diagnosed with a severe mental illness, have had a profound absence of voice in the delivery of services under the justification that they do not know what is best for them. This injustice is compounded by the fact that the most students are mandated for services, and thus are subjected to the whims, well-intended as they are, of the adults who decide on their behalf. Under these oppressive circumstances, it is incumbent on practitioners to ensure that space is given for the child’s voice.

Helping young people make sense of their experience in ways that generate hope and engagement is well grounded in empirical evidence. Recent meta-analyses of the child outcome literature indicate that no one approach is superior to another for resolving complaints in key child problem domains—depression, anxiety, conduct disorder, and ADHD. Additionally, research confirms the pivotal role the alliance plays in the outcome of child intervention. What this research is telling us is that the child—his or her inner, family, and community resources—and the relationship that we form with him or her are the most potent factors of change. Giving children a voice builds on these most influential components.