Resources for Families
Find Help Custom Fit To Your Situation
Referring professionals can include physicians, therapists, clinical psychologists, educators, and any other professional with expertise in providing health-related services to young people. These professionals can provide assessments and diagnostic information and help you understand the kind of help your child may need. Many also have some knowledge of treatment programs and may suggest one or more for you to consider. Since there are thousands of treatment options available for young people, it is difficult for most professionals to have detailed knowledge of these options, so it is important for parents to complement professional placement advice with their own research to find the right treatment program.
Some referring professionals, however, specialize in placement and therefore have both a broad and deep knowledge of treatment options, program quality, and the type of young person each program serves. These placement specialists are called educational consultants.
What is an Educational Consultant?
An educational consultant is a placement professional, typically possessing an educational and/or clinical background, whose expertise is matching young people with the appropriate program. Educational consultants who specialize in therapeutic placements are called “special needs” educational consultants. These educational consultants regularly visit and evaluate most or all legitimate treatment programs in the country to gain firsthand knowledge of their staff, clientele, and programming. Special needs educational consultants should also possess a deep understanding of adolescent therapeutic and educational issues, and their solutions.
An educational consultant not only helps match your child to the right program at the beginning of the treatment process, he or she also serves as a support during treatment, helping you navigate the treatment process and advocating for you as necessary. Many will also help you with post-treatment decisions.
To find a certified special needs educational consultant in your area, we suggest that you consult the website of the Independent Educational Consultant Association (IECA). Be sure to ask what services a given consultant provides before, during, and after the treatment process.
Intervention and Assessment Hospitals
- What: Short-term, hospital-based psychiatric programs
Who: Patients who are psychotic or at immediate risk of harm to self or others
When: During a psychiatric emergency
Why: To stabilize, typically for referral to longer-term treatment
Wilderness Therapy
What: Short to medium term program utilizing a wilderness setting for therapeutic purposes
Who: Adolescents struggling with a wide range of behavioral or emotional problems
When: Behavioral or emotional issues are threatening the well-being of the young person and/or others
Why: To interrupt or end a pattern of poor choices and to assess the need for further treatment
Detoxification Program
What: A medical treatment center for chemical addiction
Who: Patients who need medical supervision in order to safely detoxify
When: Prior to placement in a long-term addictions treatment program
Why: To safely clear the system of chemicals that would impede treatment
Treatment Residential Treatment Program
What: A program that combines therapy, psychiatric support, and schooling
Who: Adolescents who are stable enough to engage a long-term program of personal growth and therapy, but who need the structure of residential care
When: Entrenched psychological or psychiatric issues need to be resolved for long-term well being
Why: To gain insights, tools, and habits necessary for lifelong mental health
Outpatient Treatment
What: A program that allows the young person to live at home and attend school or work during the treatment process
Who: Clients who are fully compliant with treatment and whose behaviors do not seriously interfere with functioning at home, school, or work
When: When the adolescent voluntarily seeks help with emotional issues
Why: To allow a least-restrictive treatment option for compliant, engaged patients
Psychiatric Hospital
What: A hospital for long-term psychiatric treatment
Who: Severely mentally or emotionally disturbed patients requiring long-term psychiatric care
When: When the patient requires long-term supervision, containment, and medical treatment
Why: To have a long-term option for severely mentally ill patients
Day-Treatment Programs
What: Day programs that allow the client or patient to live at home and attend school or work
Who: Adolescents who need support, but possess adequate coping skills to remain at home
When: Typically following successful treatment
Why: To provide support for a successful transition home or to independence
Halfway Houses
What: A residential program that provides sobriety support along with access to work opportunities and normalized community involvement
Who: Chemically addicted clients who have had a successful treatment experience but require moderate to intensive support
When: Following a residential chemical dependency treatment program
Why: To increase probability of long-term sobriety
Transition Young Adult Program
What: Program with the features of long-term treatment, but designed to prepare young adults for independence
Who: Young adults (17+) who need a combination of treatment and life skills
When: When a young adult needs therapeutic and life-skills preparation for independent living or college
Why: To prepare young people to cope with life on their own
Step Down Programs
What: A lighter version of a treatment program – typically in the form of a highly structured boarding school with therapy
Who: Young people who are compliant with the treatment process and do not require intensive treatment
When: Typically following a successful wilderness or residential treatment experience
Why: To keep the young person in an environment that supports gains made in treatment
MORE LINKS
LOCATION
3611 S Camino Real,
Washington, Utah 84780
ADMISSIONS: 435-900-7753
FAX: (435)627-5202
MORE LINKS
LOCATION
WASHINGTON COUNTY, UTAH AREA
ADMISSIONS: 435-900-7753
FAX: (435)627-5202