|
|
|||||||||||||
|
Residential Treatment -- A Time to Heal |
|
|
"Regardless of obstacle or disadvantage, every child deserves the chance to shoot for the stars." -- Jerome Salazar, LPC, HCYR Therapist
|
In addition to the Basic Care facility that opened in 1977, HCYR has operated a residential treatment center since 1989, working with some of the state’s most traumatized and difficult-to-place children. Six units provide varying degrees of structure supervised by a highly trained professional staff. As children stabilize, they are considered for placement in one of the nearby foster homes, thus allowing them to remain in the same community of caregivers as they heal. This is one of the true advantages of a continuum of care within the same facility. Before healing can occur in an abused child, that child must come to feel safe in his or her environment. At HCYR, the entire treatment team is involved in building a high level of mutual trust with each child. Trust is also enhanced when the child knows that his healing will not cause him to have to leave his family. For treatment, we integrate individual cognitive therapy, play therapy, and animal therapy, along with opportunities in the expressive arts, vocational skills development and therapeutic recreation. The milieu cornerstone is individualized programming, as we look for special gifts and interests that can expedite the healing process. Family-style cabins are home to the children in residential treatment, where structure is the foundation for daily goal-setting and achievement. When emotional stability and behavior control are joined by progress in therapeutic issues, the child becomes eligible to be placed in one of our agency foster homes, which provide increased opportunities for children to become involved in extracurricular and community-based activities. Therapeutic Services -- The Search for What Works Professional services include individual and group therapy. Therapy sessions are conducted by licensed professionals, aided by weekly consultation with a doctorate-level psychologist and a psychiatrist. Group themes include social skills, surviving trauma, drug awareness, and sexual development education. An individual treatment plan is developed for each child at the time of admission and is reviewed monthly by an interdisciplinary team. Monitoring of the program and its services by agencies such as Residential Child Care Licensing and Youth for Tomorrow provides constant feedback used to enhance safety and quality of treatment for children. Because we believe that each child is unique and that a healing environment is one that can individualize its approach, the Ranch model is intentionally eclectic. As we seek to help each child feel safe enough to share his or her inner world with others, we watch for what helps him open up and for signs of motivation to work and grow. This approach requires flexibility on the part of professional staff and the broadest array of modalities and personalities that we can make available at any given time. Therapists work with program and direct care staff to share ideas and create an interdisciplinary team approach for implementing each child's treatment plan. |
