THE MALDEN, MASS., COURT CLINIC DEVELOPED AN APPROACH THAT COMBINED EMOTIONAL COGNITIVE STRUCTURALISM AND GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY IN ORDER TO SOLVE PROBLEMS OF SMALL STAFF, LARGE CASELOADS, AND THE REQUIREMENT OF WORKING WITH COURT PROBATION OFFICERS. IN ADDITION, MORE COMMON PSYCHIATRIC APPROACHES DID NOT WORK WELL WITH ACTING-OUT JUVENILES WHO, WITH THEIR FAMILIES, MADE UP ROUGHLY 100 OF THE 350 ANNUAL REFERRALS. THE GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY PERCEIVES THE CLINIC STAFF, PROBATION OFFICERS, AND CLIENTS AS PARTS OF A LARGER REHABILITATION PROCESS. INCLUDED IN THIS PROCESS ARE THE CONCEPTS OF ORGANIZING FOCUS, SYSTEM FORMING, STABLE ORGANIZING, LEADING ELEMENT, TRIGGER CAUSALITY, AND FLOW BALANCING. IN THE FIRST CONCEPT--THAT OF ORGANIZING FOCUS--STAFF MEMBERS ESTABLISH BOUNDARIES TO THE CLIENT'S BEHAVIOR. IN THE SECOND, OR SYSTEM-FORMING CONCEPT, BOUNDARIES OF THE CLIENT'S POSITIVE FUNCTIONING BEHAVIOR ARE STRETCHED. IN THE THIRD CONCEPT OF STABLE ORGANIZING, MORE FUNCTIONAL GROWTH-ORIENTED BEHAVIOR BOUNDARIES ARE REINFORCED AND REDEFINED. IN THE LEADING ELEMENT CONCEPT (A PART OF THE THERAPEUTIC PROCESS), HIDDEN PROBLEMS ARE DETECTED AND RESOLVED. TRIGGER CAUSALITY MARKS A TURNING POINT IN THE PROCESS, WITH MARKED CHANGES OF ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR. FOR EXAMPLE, A CLIENT WHO USED TO DEFEND HIMSELF WITH HIS FISTS PAYS A FINE FOR ASSAULT AND BATTERY AND FINDS NEW WAYS OF RELATING TO PEOPLE. FINALLY, THE CONCEPT OF FLOW BALANCING IS SEEN IN THE THERAPEUTIC PROCESS WHICH IS REGULATED BY ITS MEMBERS BUT TAKES ON A LIFE OF ITS OWN. THIS ARTICLE ALSO DISCUSSES EMOTIONAL COGNITIVE STRUCTURAL THEORY, BASED ON THE POTENTIAL IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMOTION AND COGNITION, AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR A MORE EFFECTIVE THERAPEUTIC TEAM. A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS APPENDED. (RFC)