Introducing the DSTN (Developmental–Systemic–Therapeutic Navigation) Model for Adolescent Criminal Behavior: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study of Indian Therapists

Adolescent criminal behavior in India presents complex challenges shaped by developmental, familial, systemic, and institutional contexts. This study explored the challenges Indian therapists face in addressing adolescent criminal behavior and how they navigate them in practice. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was conducted using in-depth interviews with five therapists, generating shared experiential themes while preserving individual meanings. IPA with five therapists produced 11 superordinate and 28 subordinate themes, organized into the five-layered Developmental – Systemic – Therapeutic Navigation (DSTN) Model: (1) Developmental – Familial Foundations, (2) Structural – Systemic Constraints and Enablers, (3) Interdisciplinary and Institutional Navigation, (4) Therapist-Level Emotional Labor and Coping, and (5) Transformational and Reform-Oriented Vision. Therapists acted as active navigators across fragmented systems under significant emotional and professional demands. Effective intervention for adolescent criminal behavior depends on therapists’ navigation of developmental, familial, and systemic contexts, as captured by the DSTN Model, underscoring the need for coordinated, trauma-informed systems.