Treatment Programs

There are a lot of different treatment programs for teens, and each brings different resources, training, tools and outcomes.

How do I find a directory of treatment programs?

A good place to start is at website of the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP). They have a searchable directory of programs by type, location, and age and gender of children.

Here is a great introduction to private treatment programs from the Federal Trade Commission.

What is a Wilderness Program?

Wilderness programs take your child to live in the wilderness for up to 10 weeks. During that time, he will work with therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, and others to diagnose his condition. Away from friends, computers, TV and other distractions, a child is able to reflect on the circumstances that landed him in treatment, while learning skills in self-reliance, personal responsibility, group dynamics, and so forth.

Wilderness programs remove your child from negative influences at home and school, and places them in unfamiliar surroundings. Programs have different thematic concepts around which they organize, but most use camping, hiking, and other outdoor activities to help focus the child’s attention on the behavioral work that he must do. 

While the child is in wilderness, he is being constantly monitored and observed by trained staff. Reports are sent regularly to the ed consultant, who uses them to determine the best treatment options once the wilderness program is done.

What is a Residential Treatment Center?

A residential treatment center is a place that takes a multi-faceted approach to addressing a multitude of problems that extend beyond the classroom and into a child's daily life with his or her family, peers, and the rest of the world. Residential treatment is serious stuff and the decision to place your child in one should never be made lightly.

The purpose of a residential treatment center is to effect long-term internal and external changes in a very troubled child. This is achieved by creating an individualized and consistent plan for addressing problems through three different areas of influence: the classroom; clinical treatment; and the therapeutic milieu, or living environment. These three areas are tightly linked, with professionals in each area playing an important part during each child's treatment term. This is an approach which covers all the bases, allows less room for a child to slip in one area and excel in another, and keeps everyone informed of what is going on with each child every day.

Residential treatment centers are designed to house, treat, and educate children whose problems are severe enough that they require an environment that is supervised 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Typically, these centers include doctorate-level clinical staff, psychiatric intervention, and in some cases, locked facilities.

For more information, please see this great article. 

What is a Therapeutic Boarding School?

Therapeutic boarding schools, also called emotional growth boarding schools, offer educational programs together with specialized structure and supervision for students with emotional and behavioral problems, substance abuse problems, or learning difficulties.

In contrast with residential treatment programs, which are more clinically focused and primarily provide behavioral management and treatment for adolescents with serious issues, the focus of a TBS is toward emotional and academic recovery involving structure and supervision for physical, emotional, behavioral, family, social, intellectual and academic development.

Therapeutic and educational approaches vary. The typical duration of student enrollment in a TBS range from one to two years. Students may receive either high school diplomas or credits for transfer to other secondary schools. Some therapeutic boarding schools hold educational accreditation.

For more information, see this article on therapeutic boarding schools.

What is a Transition Program?

After a child has successfully completed a residential treatment program or a less restrictive therapeutic boarding school, she may still not be ready to return to her home community. The gains made may still be too fragile or the home environment may not be conducive for continued progress.

Some residential programs have been established to help transition the child back to a home community. These “transition programs” provide clinical support to the young adult while he or she lives in a communal setting like a home or apartment building and either works or attends school. These programs can last up to a year or more and can be substantially less costly than a full residential program.

Most kids who are in the transition programs have been in a therapeutic setting before. That is, few come directly from their home communities to the transition program, though this option may be available.

Transition programs are also available for young adults who are leaving treatment.