ESPAÑOL

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Overview

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What do I find in treatment?
A full assessment is completed and diagnoses discussed with a licensed and qualified therapist, a treatment plan is recommended and decisions made jointly with individuals and families. Seeing a psychiatrist and discussing the use of medications follows education and informed decisions. 

In all instances, the highly qualified, licensed psychotherapists and licensed psychiatrist work with individuals and/or families to improve a myriad of problems that may affect day to day functioning. Common treatment methods are: Behavior Modification, Behavioral Management Techniques, Cognitive Restructuring, Skill-Building Strategies, Anger Management Techniques, Problem-Solving, Play Therapy Techniques, Psychiatric Evaluations, and Medication Management.

What is Therapy?
Psychotherapy is not just "talking about your problems"; it is also working toward solutions. A good therapist can help individuals/families to cope with feelings and symptoms, and change behaviors that may contribute to demonstrating illness patterns. Some therapies may include homework, such as tracking moods, writing about thoughts, or participating in social activities that may have caused anxiety in the past and now in the present.   Individuals might also be encouraged to look at things in a different way or learn new ways to react or respond to events or people.

Is anything new about psychotherapy?
Most of today's psychotherapy is brief and focused on current thoughts, feelings, and life issues. Focusing on the past can help explain things in one's life in the present, but working on current problems help individuals and families to cope with the present and prepare for the future. Therapists are often seen weekly or bi-weekly in the beginning of treatment, and later as one learns to manage problems and avoid triggers, psychotherapy appointments are less often.

Psychotherapy can help individuals:

  • Understand problems and resulting illness
  • Define and reach wellness goals
  • Overcome fears or insecurities
  • Cope with stress and strain
  • Make sense of past traumatic experiences
  • Separate true personality from mood swings
  • Identify triggers that may worsen symptoms
  • Improve relationships with family, friends and authority figures
  • Establish a stable, dependable routine
  • Develop a plan for coping with crises
  • Understand why things bother them and what they can do about them

What is a Partial Hospital Program or an Intensive Outpatient Program?
These are structured treatment programs designed to intervene in a wide range of behavioral disturbances and substance abuse problems that cannot be successfully handled effectively in regular office visits. Thorough and structured treatment is provided at these levels of care.

The treatment team focuses on disturbances occurring in school-aged children, adolescents and families. Clinicians help patients and families to identify how and where behavioral disorders or psychiatric illness play a role in the recurrence of problems while helping patients to use healthier and more useful or effective strategies.

When frequent and severe mental illness problems or indicators are identified admission to one or the other program should probably occur.  The treatment team then focuses on improving troubling behaviors and coping strategies to prevent recurrent or emerging problems.

Admission Criteria 

  • Displays disturbance in functioning in one or more areas of daily activity
  • Identifiable risk of decline in capacity to exercise adequate control over behaviors
  • Presence of adequate support to participate in a least restrictive setting 
  • Capacity to maintain active participation in the program of care
  • Transportation and geographic location present no prohibitive barriers  
  • Successful outcomes are more likely to occur a more intensive setting


What are the school based services you have?

School-Based Intervention May Be The Answer For A Child When:

  • More treatment is needed than is occurring in office visits alone
  • The teacher still observes behavioral problems despite treatment
  • Struggle with grades is recurring and/or is chronically unresolved 
  • Behaviors continue to interfere with learning success
  • Behaviors result in the threat of, and actual suspensions
  • A memorandum of understanding exist with the school

Selected Students May Receive School Based Intervention when:

  • School is within a ten mile radius of the office (some exceptions exist)
  • Your child's insurance coverage is accepted for school based therapy 
  • Children or teens are current and established patients
  • Children or teens have finished days in the treatment program

Parents Work With The Teacher and/or School To: 

  • Sign consent for treatment office use and teacher information 
  • Assure  cooperation from teachers and school officials 
  • Identify times to see their child during breaks, recess, or other possible time 

When should I seek help for my child?

When you are ready to know what is going on and what are the effective steps to take.

  • When you are ready to commit to as many as six or more sessions to actively participate in treatment.
  • When you are ready to learn and commit to practicing proven effective strategies to manage undesirable behaviors or feelings.
  • When you are ready to work with professionals who are objective, impartial, and trained to help you achieve desired goals. 
  • When new strategies are needed to manage undesired behaviors or feelings.

Children experience problems similar to adults including depression, ADHD, anxiety, mood disorders and autistic disorders. However, children struggle with some added pressures which sometimes result in severe consequences in achieving educational success. We provide psychiatric care for the special needs of children from pre-school age through adolescence and adulthood.

The most common problems facing children and families are:

  • Inadequate social skills
  • Anger episodes
  • School failure
  • Suspension/Expulsion
  • Aggressiveness or disruptiveness 
  • Attention deficit problems
  • Hyperactivity, rebellious, or defiant behaviors
  • Poor impulse control
  • Family, peer, or social relationship problems
  • Substance abuse disorders

What are some other reasons for contacting us?

  • Poor concentration, can't make decisions
  • Inability to sit still or focus attention
  • Worry about being harmed, hurting others, or about doing something "bad"
  • The need to wash, clean things, or perform certain routines dozens of times a day
  • Thoughts that race almost too fast to follow
  • Persistent sleeplessness or nightmares




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