In relation to children and youth with mental challenges, there is an increasing focus on interdisciplinarity, young peoples participation and that help should be provided in their immediate home environment. Nevertheless, the degree to which this is fulfilled depends on the amount of work at the helper’s workplace. It can be understood that during hectic times, the biomedical traditions dominate and the diagnostic culture hinders the milieu therapists from performing the desired work.

The purpose of the study is to shed a light on how healthcare professionals, working as milieu therapists within mental health ward, think about inpatient adolescent’s need of help. Their thoughts of what kind of help these vulnerable youth are in need of, in relation to their professional role and the organizational framework of their workplace.

Material to this study was conducted through qualitative semi structured interviews of seven milieu therapists working within specialist health services for psychiatric health wardfor adolescents. The study has a psychosocial approach and is using Grounded Theory as method of analysis.

he findings of the study identified three higher order categories, Needs and ambitions for milieu therapeutic work, Hampered by diagnostic culture and Milieu therapists need for support. These categories are discussed using data from the interviews and validated with exitsting theory. The three higher order categories lead to the core category A desired but downgraded family perspective