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Therapeutic Services

Clinical Services

 

Family Therapy

The student's ability to reintegrate into the family is crucial for their ongoing success. Parents are requested to participate in the therapeutic process. These family therapy sessions may take place during on-campus visits and by telephone and generally take place weekly. The focus will remain on the student and their growth process as well as building the health of the overall family.

Individual Therapy

A student's relationship with his or her therapist begins with an initial evaluation during the student's first week at Northwest Academy. Following the initial evaluation, your therapist will share their impressions of the student with you and make recommendations for interventions. Our therapists spend one on one time with students in many different settings; this may be during a game of basketball, chess, doing volunteer work at the local animal shelter, or in the traditional office setting.

Substance Abuse Education

Drug and alcohol use is addressed in groups, in one-on-one interaction with program staff and in therapy. Students have the opportunity to attend AA and/or NA meetings. Students who do not choose to participate in Twelve Step groups are still required to attend general Recovery groups with our substance abuse specialist.

Groups

The Clinical team offers groups based on the therapeutic needs of the student population. Examples of groups include the following: phase groups, leadership, recovery, and focus group. The clinical team reserves the right to change the subject of the groups at any time based on the needs of the students.

Adolescents often struggle to grasp how their patterns of interaction with both family and peers are problematic. Effective groups allow participants to play out their long-term problematic interactions with opportunities to try something different. We believe group therapy is ideal for our setting because it allows these natural relationship patterns to unfold. In a sense, group is a practice laboratory to experiment with new types of behavior and see what works.

According to Gerald Corey, an expert on group process, the stages of any group process involve dynamics such as:

• developing group norms
• building cohesion
• generating trust
• manifestation of resistance and emerging conflicts
• appropriate conflict resolution

"Groups have immense power to move people in creative and more life-giving directions" (Corey 2006).

Often adolescents who struggle to identify or take ownership of ineffective coping skills in an individual therapy setting can benefit greatly from having peers identify this pattern for them as it emerges repeatedly in group situations. They may readily accept feedback from another student which they would not be able or willing to hear from a parent, therapist, or other adult. They begin to see that their problems are not completely unique and that others have very similar struggles; this creates a sense of hope and helps develop altruism as they begin supporting others (Yalom 2005). These concepts can also be a factor in a very common resistance to group therapy. You may hear your child say "group doesn't help me," or "group is pointless." It is the discomfort of openly addressing conflict, hearing feedback, and taking risks which makes group more difficult to engage in and yet, it is the development of these social skills that make it the ideal treatment for adolescents.

Psychiatric Support

Psychiatric Support is provided through a contracted psychiatrist. All students arriving on medication for psychiatrist issues meet with the psychiatrist for an initial evaluation. Our psychiatrist is on campus monthly to follow student progress and available in between visits for emergency or crisis situations. Our nurse contacts parents whenever a change in medication is recommended. If your clinician believes it might be beneficial for your child to be seen by the psychiatrist, he or she will discuss this recommendation with you.

Medical Services

Northwest Academy has a nurse on site Monday through Friday and on-call during the weekends to handle routine medical needs, deal with medical emergencies and dispense medication. Our school nurse coordinates the regular health care needs of our students including medical physicals, eye care, dental exams and orthodontia as well as psychiatric needs. Nursing also arranges transportation to and from the health care facility. In an emergency, medical services are available at either Boundary County Community Hospital in Bonners Ferry or Bonner General Hospital in Sandpoint.

 

Character Development Program

Core Values/Milliue Counseling/ Workshops

Our personal growth curriculum teaches older adolescents to identify and resolve their individual issues in order to develop positive, healthy lives. Through peer-accountability discussions, personal-growth workshops and faculty counseling and modeling, your child will examine behavior patterns and learn to make productive choices.

The personal growth curriculum is structured into phases, with a cumulative curriculum designed to build on lessons learned in the earlier phases. The focus on issues through emotional growth experiences is individualized to each student.

The program emphasizes accepting responsibility for one's behavior and feelings, building healthy meaningful relationships, developing a positive value system based on honesty, learning how to set and accomplish goals and dealing with and resolving underlying feelings and fears. Our students learn to resolve issues and come to understand the power their choices have in creating a healthy lifestyle.

Leadership

All Northwest Academy students participate in regular peer-group counseling along with periodic personal growth experiences. As students progress through their personal growth curriculum, they are invited to take on leadership roles on the campus, utilizing their newfound skills to help other students. With the confidence that comes from our personal growth program, Northwest Academy students are able to develop plans and set future goals.

Agreements

Glossary of Terms

parent education

Northwest Academy offers and requests as part of your students program, your attendance in the Parent Workshops. Through this forum, we provide a learning experience that is designed to complement your child's program. Workshops are designed to provide support to our families and are open to all parents, step-parents, guardians and extended family. Participation in these important aspects of the program demonstrates to your child a clear commitment to their therapeutic journey.

Parent Workshops

Parent Workshops progress from the sharing of common parental experiences, problems and solutions, to more individual introspection and interaction with others. The workshops are filled with practical concepts and tools for building and maintaining healthy relationships. The structure and content of the workshops allow for maximum group support and interaction. We greatly promote as parents and other guardians such as step parents and grandparents who provide or have been of direct care to the students. Additional family members who wish to attend must be approved through the Student Enrichment Team prior. Upon enrollment, Clinical Services will send out a calendar of events outlining the Workshop dates for the year. Invitation and registration packets will be mailed approximately two months prior to the event.

 

 

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