Intensive Socio-Pedagogical Individual Care (ISIC)
In general, placement in an intensive socio-educational individual care setting in Portugal is particularly beneficial for children and adolescents whose family systems are deeply entangled. These entanglements often make it difficult for them to settle into nearby care systems, as they are repeatedly drawn back into their family environment. The greater physical distance makes it more challenging for impulsive actions, such as taking a bus or train home, and also prevents parents from easily retrieving their children. This distance creates a new experiential and action-oriented space for both sides. The spatial separation also helps create an internal distance, enabling young people to focus on themselves, step out of inverted family roles, and gradually rebuild their relationship with their parents in a healthier way.
Depending on the individual’s starting point and specific needs, intensive socio-pedagogical individual care can be provided either in a family-integrated setting or within a team-based setting.
ISIC Family-integrated
Long-term measure for children and adolescents aged 12 and up:
The family-integrated individual care placements are primarily located in rural areas of Portugal’s Algarve and Alentejo regions. Here, the connection to nature and the presence of animals provide a low-stimulation environment for self-reflection. The deliberate choice of these remote locations allows young people to experience a contrast to their accustomed lifestyles and develop a sense of gratitude.
The language barrier and unfamiliar surroundings create an opportunity to establish emotional connections with the caregivers while gradually learning Portuguese and integrating into the community.
The focus lies on relationship-building within a family-like environment that provides young people with stability and reliability. This setting helps them develop trust in adult caregivers and supports their personal growth.
The primary goal of this care model is the holistic development of young people. Through corrective relationship experiences, they make progress in emotional, psychosocial, cognitive, and physical development.
ISIC Team-based
Long-term measure for children and adolescents aged 12 and up:
Our team-based social pedagogical one-to-one care is designed for children and adolescents whose complex family entanglements and traumatic experiences have deeply shaken their trust in adults and impaired their ability to form relationships. In such cases, traditional family-like care settings can quickly become overwhelming, particularly in terms of emotional closeness.
We offer this specialized care model as a unique opportunity for children and adolescents who, due to their challenges, exhibit transgressive, aggressive, or rejecting behaviours—behaviours that cannot be effectively managed in group settings or family environments.
The strength of this care model lies in the protected social space it creates, allowing young people to slowly rebuild trust and relational skills. For attachment-disordered adolescents, close relationships with a single caregiver can feel overwhelming, often triggering feelings of confinement, dependency, or helplessness. By implementing a small, consistent care team, where caregivers rotate regularly, we help young people experience closeness and attachment in a manageable way. The structured shift system provides natural boundaries, allowing caregivers to support the adolescents effectively while continuously offering new relational opportunities.
We offer this specialised care as a unique opportunity for children and adolescents who, due to their challenges, exhibit transgressive, aggressive, or dismissive behaviour—behaviour that cannot be adequately supported within a group or family setting.