Clinical Program

The Journey’s Quest Adolescent Residential Treatment and Educational Center model emerges from a residential treatment environment that addresses Reactive Attachment Disorders, Aspergers Disorder, ODD, Adoption related issues, Anger, parent/family relationships, social boundary skills, and substance abuse amid a number of other psychological, emotional and behavioral issues.

The Journey’s Quest Adolescent Residential Treatment and Educational Center model emerges from a residential treatment environment rather than an outgrowth of a traditional education programs.  As such, the Journey’s Quest Adolescent Residential Treatment and Educational Center model is three-pronged, with equal emphasis on the treatment, educational and family intervention aspects of the program.  All three aspects of the program are individualized, but integrated, to help each resident-student and his/her family to achieve their potential.  Our model is integrated and multi-disciplinary within a residential environment called “positive peer culture.” The intervention is effective due to the programs many combined and individualized intervention treatment plans.

The program will house residents from 12-18 years of age and have an intervention timetable of 12-24 months. Following successful intervention at the facility, the resident-student will be transferred to one of two programs at other facilities: A boarding school that focus on college prep academics with a less intense therapeutic intervention, or into a University setting.

The residential program will include elements that associate life skills with daily living, care for animals, gardening, house keeping, and will have a large experiential element. Students will participate with parents in weekend workshops, camping trips, horse back riding, snowmobiling, cross country skiing, river rafting, and other such outdoor activities. The purpose of this is to allow the resident-student to build essential problem solving and communications skills with parents. Therapist will attend these activities and each evening, campfire sessions will be held to process family dynamics.

An essential part of treatment is to view the individual in a holistic manner; therefore residents will also have the opportunity, if they chose, to experience spiritual intervention as an effective strategy leading to the overall healing of the resident. Studies conclude that spiritual intervention strategies have a positive affect on self esteem and other psychological struggles. In a paper on “Self-esteem of Early Adolescents: A National Survey of 8th Graders,” presented 24 August 2001 at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in San Francisco, Yong Dai, Rebecca F. Nolan, and Qing Zeng, claimed that research of religious intervention variables studied, that “religious involvement appears to have the largest impact on how early adolescents evaluate themselves.”

The center will provide an on campus non-denominational chaplain and will offer access to religious leaders for counseling (this will reflect the vast and various religious faiths).

Residents will attend an academic program on campus that will help the resident-student get back on track academically and will aid in the process of high school graduation. In deed some residents will graduate from the treatment centers high school. Journey’s Quest Adolescent Residential Treatment and Educational Center will hire core faculty to oversee and implement the school’s curriculum in classes with low student to staff ratios.  Certified core faculty includes English, Math, Science, Social Studies/History, Art and Special Education.  The professional staff’s efforts are overseen by the Director of Education.  Journey’s Quest Adolescent Residential Treatment and Educational Center School curriculum meets the Kentucky Department of Education standards.

In addition to the core faculty and staff, the school will investigate the use of a proven web-based learning technology to provide course offerings, including remedial, and advanced placement that ordinarily would be beyond the scope of a small school.  Partnering with the local area schools to offer other educational and extra-curricular opportunities will be incorporated into the model to attain the academic and clinical levels necessary to build a successful program that meets the community’s needs.

The treatment center will seek JACHO (Joint Accreditation Commission for Health Organization) accreditation and the accreditation for the on campus school by one of the many regional accreditation agencies for schools. (e.g., Southern Association for Schools and Colleges).

The resident student will also be exposed to a vast experiential component that will include hands on experiences with parents, and enlarge, or teach new skills. These will include care for animals, athletic competencies, experiential counseling interventions, gardening, house keeping, organization and so forth.