Adolescent Treatment Program

Treatment philosophy
Treatment allows adolescents to capitalize on their strengths and to work on targeted areas of their life among peers and a caring, experienced staff. Staff realize it is normal to experience angry and sad feelings when entering the hospital. One of the goals for treatment is to learn how to manage feelings effectively. Teens in the program will be encouraged and supported in this process.

Mental health professionals working with the adolescents strive to understand and treat each individual medically, emotionally and socially. This approach is especially applicable because the patients we typically see may be vulnerable to certain kinds of disorders because of inherited characteristics and/or physical trauma or illnesses. The youth usually have had experiences that have had a significant effect.

Family and cultural environments contribute strengths, as well as weaknesses and difficulties. Understanding how each part of this puzzle fits together is crucial to a diagnostic understanding and the development of a treatment plan. The treatment plan integrates therapies and interventions specially ordered by the treatment team. The plan stresses the importance of:

• Development of a healthy relationship with family, peers and adults,
• Enhancement of academic, vocational and social skills and
• Consolidation of a positive, realistic self-identity.