MHGCJ – 2020
Mental Health: Global Challenges Journal
ISSN 2612-2138
Implementation of the DIR Model and the
DIR/Floortime Approach in the System of Palliative
Care for Children
Elena Akulova
Expert & Training Leader, Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning (ICDL), Minsk, Belarus
Abstract
Introduction. One of the systems that can be used in the system of palliative care for children is
the Developmental Individual Relationship (DIR)/Floortime concept, which can be flexibly
adapted to individual features of a child, and at the same time it has intelligible and clearly-
defined tools for work and interaction, that take into consideration not only individual peculiarities
of a patient, but also their parents and specialists.
Purpose. The purpose of the paper was to review the possibilities and prospects of using
DIR/Floortime model in the system of palliative care for children.
Methodology. The paper was prepared on the basis of input from Belarusian Children's Hospice
and also took into account experience of implementation of the DIR/Floortime Model (report
information of ICDL’ specialists).
Results and Discussion. In the course of the work the main tasks for providing palliative care to
sick children were outlined and 6 points of introduction of the DIR /Floortime concept into this
system were singled out.
Conclusions. The main postulates of the DIR concept fully coincide with the modern principles of
palliative support. Using DIR/Floortime Model also can solve urgent tasks of the system of palliative
care for children: build a team-based, positive, supportive and safe relationship around a child
and family; help to prevent conflicts; improve the emotional background of the child in care.
Keywords
Child psychology, mental health, education, palliative care, DIR Model, DIR/Floortime Approach.
Address for correspondence:
Elena Akulova, Expert & Training Leader, Interdisciplinary Council on Development and
Learning (ICDL), Minsk, Belarus e-mail:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
©Copyright: Akulova, 2020
Licensee NDSAN (MFC- Coordinator of the NDSAN), Italy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32437/mhgcj.v3i1.75
Submitted for publication:
6
March 2020
Received for publication:
6
March 2020
Accepted for publication:
07
June 2020
Introduction
Palliative care for sick children involves
providing assistance to a wide category of
patients that includes not only oncology patients
but also children with congenital or/and acquired
diseases and (multiple) complex developmental
disorders. Thus, we cannot talk about a narrow