Child & Adolescent Acute Services Program

                                                                                                                                                                                       
The Child and Adolescent Acute Psychiatric Program at Old Vineyard Behavioral Health Services is designed to provide a supportive, nurturing environment that promotes health and healing.  These services are provided to children and adolescents who are in need of rapid and immediate interventions.  It is designed to arrest intensive, crisis-oriented psychiatric disturbances where the likelihood of harm to self or others is significant.

Acute Psychiatric programming includes the following services and program components:

• A comprehensive intake screening and assessment process is begun upon admission to determine the individual’s level of acuity and potential for harm to self or others.  The information obtained in this assessment process is utilized in determining the most appropriate course of treatment.  Along with the assessment, a complete psychiatric and physical history is obtained from the patient’s family or other reliable source.  This information is invaluable in determining the potential causes of the current psychiatric emergency.

• The psychiatrist evaluates and determines medication needs.  Often in cases of acute psychiatric crisis, medication stabilization is the first step toward alleviating the individual’s psychiatric emergency.

• A master’s level therapist provides individual and group therapy focusing on the process of healing, wellness, and living with mental illness.

• Structured therapeutic recreation groups are a vital part of the psychiatric treatment programming.  Often through the process of activity therapy, patients gain a much deeper insight into their individual issues and learn new and more appropriate coping skills.

• Active family counseling, when appropriate, ensures that everyone in the individual’s family is involved and educated about the benefits from the process of treatment.

• Aftercare planning includes medication management education, community resource information, relapse prevention education, and appropriate discharge referrals.