Current approaches to troubled children focus on external control and superficial compliance. This article explores the significance of Fritz Redl's concept of building controls from within to effective practice in the 21st Century. The author provides a brief overview of Fritz Redl's concept and hopes that this overview and the material to follow will excite and empower individuals to delve more deeply into the richness of the legacy of Redl and his colleagues and to apply their conceptual thinking in everyday work.