People R Us - The Services We Provide

This is a short-term community based therapeutic setting for adolescent males who are not able to safely be controlled in the home or school settings. We provided a safe and nurturing environment that is structed and consistent with a low child to staff ratio five to one.

We are specifically targeting behavioral and therapeutic issues surrounding substance abuse while considering the unique emotional and psychiatric needs of the individual. Our program is based on the 12 step model of treatment which considers addiction a disease with only cure being abstinence. The 12 step program aims to help individuals accept their diagnosis and begin to take responsibility for their lives through both individual and group counseling. All of our clients have co-occurring disorders, mental illnesses with substance abuse issues. During their stay, a primary goal is to address the denial and manipulation that are typically hallmarks of addiction through structure, limits, and therapeutic confrontation. Throughout their stay the clients require monitoring of their mood (withdrawals, outbursts) and their medication needs.

Differential diagnosis is often challenging. One of the main functions of this program is to eliminate the illegal substance use and to stabilize psychiatric needs in order to allow the client the ability to function in their natural environment. Family involvement is critical. The client's counselor will work collaboratively with the family and school in order to facilitate a process of re-entry. Family involvement is critical to the success of the child while in treatment and following placement at People R Us Community Residential Services. PRU strives to include the family in the therapeutic process as much as possible. Families are involved in the following manner:

• Weekly Family Therapy Sessions

  These are sessions that primary therapist conducts with the teen and their family. They will be done either in person or via the speakerphone. Weekly family therapy sessions may include parents only or siblings or combined families. Informal Phone Calls Depending on the student's level, informal telephone calls are allowed to keep up on the happenings at home and to discuss non-therapeutic issues. Informal phone call privileges increase infrequency and duration as the student moves up the program levels.



• Letters from Home

  Once off orientation level (usually 3-5 days) students may write letters to and receive letters from their parents. The frequency of this privilege increases as their level increases.

In this program we manage behaviors safely and therapeutically. A big challenge is getting the individual to stop negative or unsafe behavior. We hope that the strategies and techniques we use will lay the ground work for the individual to develop alternative and more adaptive behaviors. The staff will establish helping relationships with clients by getting to know their unique history, their strengths and weakness. This conveys empathy which will allow the client to feel more engaged and safe.

In order to address specific problematic behaviors, staff will need to be able to observe the context in which it occurs. When does it occur? Who is it directed towards? What is the pattern? What kinds of behaviors usually precede the problem behaviors? Staff will communicate with clients in a non-threatening way using calm language, calm tones and nonverbal gestures that convey openness (posture and Facial expressions). When a problematic behavior occurs, staff will use varying degrees of insistence to allow the client to limit his own behavior. For example; start out with verbal de-escalation and if not effective a time-out may be necessary. The least amount of interference is best in helping the client to learn self-control. Time-outs ideally are used to interrupt negative behavior rather than as a consequence for behavior. The goal being to give the individual the opportunity to utilize whatever capacity he has for internal control.

Verbal de-escalation techniques; It is important for staff to remain calm (tone of voice) and empathic, in order to try to interfere with the negative behavior or thought process of the client. The use of humor, problem solving with the client, use of "No", redirection, direct appeals, regrouping and maintaining a certain proximity to the client all can be effective tools for preventing an outburst or changing a particular behavior pattern. When a client is overwhelmed and becomes physically aggressive, how will this be safely managed if verbal de-escalation techniques and time-out are unsuccessful? Security officers? Police?

ALL GROUP ACTIVITIES ARE DESIGNED TO ENCHANCE THE THERAPUTIC VALUE OF THE CLIENTS WHILE THEY ARE RESIDENTS OF PEOPLE R US. THE GROUPS ARE CENTERED ON THE CLIENT INDIVIDUAL EXEPERINCE AND ARE ALWAYS FOCUSED ON RELATIVE TOPICS.

Learning Tools to be Used in our Daily Groups and Trainings

Showers/Dress (Hygienic concepts implemented) Breakfast (all residents are present) Morning meditation/Daily reflections Light exercise Community meeting
Goals/Group-Suggested Topics:

• Addiction as a Disease
• Generational Contributions to Addiction
• Family -Systems Contributions to Addiction
• Identification of the Youth's Personal Cravings
• How to Successfully Resolve a Craving
• Developing a Personal Strategy for Craving Resolution
• Multi-Systemic Consequences of Drug Use
• Living a Sober Life

Academics (tutorial support systems for reading evaluating appropriate subjects relating to the educational process and determining the deficiencies of the resident)

Lunch (all residents are present) PM- Group Sessions-Suggested Topics:

• Triggers/Anger/Hostility
• Why the Necessity to Lie/Consequences
• Is Spirituality Necessary, Why?
• Abusive Personality; Exacerbated by Substance Misconduct, Fact or Fallacy?
• Gambling Addiction: An Overlooked Adolescent Behavior
• Compliance to the Re-direction Process
• Participation in a Foreign Environment/How?