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The Family

• Family therapy: fundamentally, recovery for children requires active interventions from families, and changes in the family structure. Families are expected to participate regularly in family therapy sessions, in which the power of the family for transformation and growth is highlighted in bringing about client change.



• Family involvement throughout treatment process: The family is actively involved in treatment decisions throughout the treatment process at Stonycreek. They regularly attend treatment meetings, planning meetings, and all other decisions related to their child’s care.

Community

• A home does not stop at the edges of a house, but is part of the larger community—suspended in multiple social networks. Stonycreek provides ample opportunities for children to interact with many of these networks, to develop skills necessary to succeed once out of our Home.



• Mental health is hard to accomplish without a sense of history and place. For this reason, we stress a community inclusion that includes learning about the local community, its history, and the child’s place in that history. With this knowledge, comes an understanding of future responsibilities that the child will have in this community, and helps orient their progress towards recovery.



• Group therapy is a large component of our healing process, since it further helps ground each resident in their peer culture, learn problem solving techniques, and work on developing a way to fit-in, while keeping a distinct identity.

School

• Stonycreek Residential is committed to a philosophy of community inclusion. Towards that end we work hard to have all of the children attend school in the local school district. To facilitate their success in these systems, we have a school liaison who regularly goes to the school and helps work with school personnel on methods and means to ensure the child succeeds.

The Child

• Goal directed reinforcement system: Stonycreek Residents are always working on improving their coping skills. This is tracked through daily goal setting and efforts towards accomplishing their goals. Progress towards goals is monitored through a carefully crafted and individualized reinforcement system.



• Individual therapy: Stonycreek Residents receive at least two psychotherapy sessions a week. These sessions utilize multiple modalities, including psychodynamic/developmental interventions, humanistic interventions, art and play therapy, and cognitive behavioral interventions. The individual therapy is trauma informed. It is focused on increasing insight for the child, and in processing through developmental fixations in order to increase development and maturation.

Medication Management

If medication is to be prescribed or distributed by the facility, the requirements of applicable Federal and State drug statutes and regulations shall be met. Written policies and procedures providing for the safe dispensing and administration of drugs by the medical, nursing, and approved staff shall be in writing and on file. The policies will include the following:

• Prescriptions shall be written only by the physician.
  
• Drugs will be dispensed only on the order of a physician.
  
• Drugs shall be stored in a secure place.
  
• Each dose of medication administered by the facility shall be properly recorded in the child’s medical record.
  
• If a child scheduled for Therapeutic Leave is on any medication, the clinical team will ensure that an adequate supply of medication, with clear instructions, is forwarded to the home.
  
• Any and all medication and dosage changes will be reviewed and authorized by the parent or guardian.
  

Family and Individual Psychotherapy

• Family therapy: fundamentally, recovery for children requires active interventions from families, and changes in the family structure. Families have the opportunity to participate regularly in family therapy sessions, in which the power of the family for transformation and growth is highlighted in bringing about client change.



• Individual therapy: Stonycreek Residents receive at least two psychotherapy sessions a week. These sessions utilize multiple modalities, including psychodynamic/developmental interventions, humanistic interventions, art and play therapy, and cognitive behavioral interventions. The individual therapy is trauma informed. It is focused on increasing insight for the child, and in processing through developmental fixations in order to increase development and maturation.

Daily Goals / Reinforcement System

Central to the Stonycreek model is the Reinforcement System (“The Level System”) which is a model adopted from the “Four Phase System” of Metropolitan Toronto (Pazaratz, 2009).

As each resident works on his or her goals, he or she earns points. The points serve two purposes:

• For the resident and staff to keep track and monitor progress on goals. As the resident gains points, the client is demonstrating that he or she is taking action on his or her deficits, and is discovering his or her competency. Gaining points results in rising through the Level System. Higher levels means more freedom and responsibility at Stonycreek, and being closer to discharge.



• To provide reinforcement to the residents for their daily accomplishments. Daily privileges (such as watching TV, playing on Stonycreek’s video game systems, pizza parties, earning allowance, etc.) are earned through accomplishing points on a daily basis.

The Level System works in the following ways:

• Level 1. This is where all residents start upon entering Stonycreek. This is the most structured level, and provides the resident the most intensive supports. Demotion to this level from any other occurs when a youth violates program rules to a profound extent (i.e. safety is in question), or the youth experiences more than three time-outs from reinforcement per day. Privileges at this level are restricted to the Stonycreek residence. More restrictions and controls are placed on youth at this level than at any other level, because they are new to the program and just beginning the system, or due to being placed on this level for more support. Some youth on this level will proportionately earn more than youth on a higher level because they are subject to tighter controls. Nevertheless, when this occurs it means that the youth has benefited from additional structure and support.



• Level 2: Residents on Level Two have shown displayed progress working on their goals, demonstrated average compliance with rules, and limited problematic behaviors in the facility



• Level 3: Residents on Level Three have demonstrated progress toward their treatment goals and have consistently displayed above average compliance in the program. At this level, residents are close to being able to return home.



• Daily Privileges. The Level System tracks progress towards a healthy discharge from Stonycreek. The points earned, however, also help the client earn regular daily privileges in the program. Daily privileges can take many forms and are worked out individually between the resident and his or her counselor daily. Privileges include watching television, playing video games, getting time alone to read, etc.

Groups, Programming, Schooling

• Groups: Residents participate in daily evidence based group therapies, including art therapy, music therapy, anger management therapy, stress reduction approaches, dialectical behavioral therapy groups, and regularly group processing. For more information on the exact curricula, please contact Stonycreek directly.



• School: Stonycreek Residential is committed to a philosophy of community inclusion. Towards that end we work hard to have all of the children attend school in the local school district. To facilitate their success in these systems, we have a school liaison who regularly goes to the school and helps work with school personnel on methods and means to ensure the child succeeds.



• Programming: Beyond formal groups, residents at Stonycreek are always working on their goals through the reinforcement system [More Info]. The activities they pursue, are all focused on furthering the Stonycreek Home.

Click on the links below to show section: Treatment Information: Treatment Philosophy Continuum of Care Bibliography Clinical Information: Psychiatric Assessment Psychological Evaluation Bio-psycho-social Assessment Group Therapy Individual Therapy Family Therapy/Support Groups Recreational Therapy Therapeutic Instructional Sessions

Working .... It is at home that we learn our values and morals, right from wrong, our place in the world, and our visions for the future. Children who must go into residential placement, feel severed from their home, and can feel abandoned. This prohibits their movement towards recovery. To overcome this, at Stonycreek, we constantly work as an institution to make ourselves a "Home Away From Home." We are a small, 16-bed facility. All of our programmatics are individualized to each resident’s needs. Caring for each other is our central philosophy. We cultivate unconditional support from all staff and residents in developing our Home Away From Home. We believe that families that have their child placed in residential treatment, only do so as a last resort of caring. Just like these families do not give up on their children, we too never give up. Our primary goal is to use our Home Away From Home to reconnect the child with their family. We accomplish this, through several components (Click on various areas of image to see details): Stonycreek’s approach is multimodal, and can be parsed into four basic categories: Medication management; Groups, programming, and schooling; Family and individual psychotherapy; and our Daily Goals/Reinforcement System. It is the goal of Stonycreek Residential to help all residents work toward the highest level, but ultimately progression is determined by the resident’s willingness and ability to achieve.