Gateway Rehabilitation Center’s (GRC’s) remodeled treatment space for its adolescent residential program is allowing the organization to meet the increasingly complex needs of the youths it serves. Young people encounter a relaxed and welcoming environment at Rutter House, working with clinicians who strike a balance between offering guidance and fostering youths’ desire for independent decision-making.
In repurposing a building on the GRC campus that formerly housed a transitional living program and before that a halfway house, leaders at Gateway Rehab emphasized the use of calming colors and comfortable but durable and ligature-resistant furniture. “One of the things I insisted on was I wanted us to have a homey feel,” said Laura Bisbey, GRC’s regional executive director of inpatient services.
A long dining table that accommodates family-style meals reinforces a sense of being part of a healing community. “We sit down and have meals together, residents and staff,” Bisbey said.
These touches are much more than cosmetic — they reinforce a clinical approach that emphasizes mutual trust and meeting patients where they are. In serving this population, “Building trust and rapport is number one — if you don’t have trust, young people aren’t going to talk to us,” Bisbey said.
Clinicians use a nonjudgmental approach in working with the patient. Gone are the days in the treatment field when programs expected clients to be ready to address all issues from day one. Today’s mindset reasons that if a client can’t promise to reach a long-term goal, what can he/she promise to do for today? Motivational interviewing and cognitive-behavioral therapy are cornerstone treatment modalities.
The program serves young males and females ages 13 to 18, with a typical length of stay around 30 days and a mix of publicly and commercially insured patients. Bisbey said leaders in Beaver County approached GRC to encourage development of a program to address unmet need for acute-care services for youths.
Bisbey said young people today are presenting with a higher level of acuity — two of the program’s initial patients have needed withdrawal management services, one for alcohol use and one for opioids. Polysubstance use and co-occurring mental health disorders have become common, she said.
Bisbey also considers family involvement critical to establishing a sound path to recovery. As long as the patient agrees to it, family group and visitation are available to family members twice a week. Transitional planning includes agreement on a “safe home contract” in which the patient and family negotiate the post-discharge conditions at home that will promote long-term recovery.
While trust becomes critical to reaching the young patient, technology often can be the vehicle for building this supportive relationship. Gateway Rehab is leveraging technology in several ways for patients, family members and staff. “Technology is super important for the treatment of adolescents,” Bisbey said. “Today’s adolescents have used technology practically since they were able to speak. We need to speak their language.”
The group room at Rutter House is equipped with smart board technology for interactive lesrning. Bisbey said GRC aims to expand opportunities for online interventions through use of iPads and virtual reality tools in treatment.
Implementation of Sigmund Software’s AURA solution is proving valuable to patients’ families and to the clinicians serving Rutter House. Family members have access to AURA’s dynamic patient portal to maintain engagement with their loved one. Clinical documentation has been simplified, allowing staff to spend more time with patients. Bisbey cites freeing up therapists from administrative burden as one of the items highest on her wish list for the treatment field in general.
Our relationships with partners such as Gateway Rehab offer great meaning to our work at Sigmund Software. We value organizations that have stepped in to offer tailored, evidence-based and compassionate treatment to underserved populations.
