About UsHope Renews was founded by parents of teens with severe emotional distress in residential treatment programs. Having had children in these programs we learned firsthand two things. First, that this kind of intensive intervention can be life saving. And second, we learned that it comes with a substantial price tag. It has been our belief that this kind of care should not be the exclusive province of the wealthy. So we created a foundation to specifically address financial issues – through loans and grants directly to families, through the dissemination of information of resources that might be available to help pay for treatment, and through a forum of supportive voices to connect families facing this challenge. How Do I Pay for It?Paying for treatment is a challenge to low- and middle-income families. But it is not impossible. It takes a parent that is educated, dedicated, and thinks outside the box. It will require planning, locating resources, talking to programs, juggling tasks, all while you are trying to take care of your family. But if you approach this fight, armed with knowledge and support, you are more likely to get your child the help he needs. More... How Much Is Treatment?There is no other way to say it: residential treatment is expensive. Parents have to navigate a maze of funding options that are confusing and frustrating. We have been through it. We hope we can make your job easier by sharing our experiences. More... |
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Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 04/25/2010 - 19:18
My Kid Is In the Wrong Program!by Cathy Gilson, 4/27/10Despite our having a wonderful educational consultant, we had many missteps in finding the proper residential treatment center for our child. I have learned that we were not alone in this experience. The first problem is that families rarely get dependable diagnoses of their child’s problems. The kids often go to a series of therapists and psychiatrists who at times seem to be practicing medicine (and therapy) by elimination. One medication would be tried, tested and then eliminated. Another diagnosis would be offered, and then changed. And inevitably the fact that the kid is a teen complicates any diagnosis. The number of times we and other families are told that the adolescent “would grow out of it” is enough to drive any parent to distraction. One parent sent their son to a fancy therapeutic boarding school. It was a gorgeous (and expensive) place. Even her child sensed this place wasn’t right and promptly ran away. Four times. Sometimes lock-down facilities are recommended. One program we visited had fences (am I only imagining that they were topped with razor ribbon?) and huge monsters of guys just looking for kids to physically “take down” when then they got out of hand. After a number of false starts we ended up at a wilderness program. Second Nature was great. One of the best things about a wilderness program is the ability of their psychologists to make proper diagnoses. Other families have told me that their kids went to multiple places frequently returning to the same place over again. One girl was admitted eleven times into programs. She just didn’t get with the therapy. (I should note here for other families of such true incorrigibles that she is now a top student in graduate school! They do grow up.) I guess my takeaway from our personal experience is that a good wilderness program can be a great starting place because the high ratio of staff to kids enables therapists to make diagnoses that community mental health folks often miss. I thought, incorrectly, that it would be like boot camp. Instead, it served to refocus our child and set us on our course of treatment.. What about you? Is your child in the right program? Have you moved your child from program to program? Let us know in the Comment section below. |
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Comments
I would love to tell
I would love to tell something about wilderness programs. This programs actually help young people by giving them a set of outdoor challenges, outlet for their rage, a different environment, and a time to find themselves again. Being in wilderness programs does not only mean accomplishing tasks, being involved in an adventure and overcoming challenges to finish the course; it also means overcoming oneself and being useful once again. In a teen wilderness programs, they will experience the highest standards of safety and therapy in one of the most beautiful and powerful settings for real change.
Comments
Good, but keep on going.
Our son went to wilderness and it was what he needed at that time. He progressed so well in the woods that we decided to bring him home (agge 15) despite reccomendations that he should go onto a theraputic boardng school. Based on his progress, we brought him home. Things went well for a couple of months and then started to deteriate again. After 5 months he was back in wilderness for a few weeks and we found a great theraputic boardign school for him. Wilderness is a great wake-up call that does a good job of making the adolecent become aware of the issues and to face them honestly. But that cannot become part of someone by practicing it for 2 months. It's something that has to be practiced over and over for a year (give or take) for it to become part of who they are.... at least that has been our experience and what we have observed from others we have seen along the way.
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