Walking into our Day School is emblematic of the cultivation of community. The kids are in support of each other, bonded by difficulty and a desire to change, and they are aptly supported by a team of a deeply compassionate clinical and support staff. On a given day, you may encounter laughter, tears, struggle, and frustration, joy, triumph, and accomplishment. And regardless of which of those experiences is present, they are held in a safe container of support; a container which is ultimately community.
A fear that is often present for teens in treatment is the suggestion that their peer group will need to change. In a successful environment of recovery, that peer group does need to change. However, part of the recovery process includes the cultivation of a healthier, more supportive community of peers–a community that is desirous of shifting the old paradigm to one that is conducive to the mental health and stability they seek.
I asked Joseph Rogers, MDiv Canditate and teacher at Visions for 5 ways in which Visions helps teens cultivate community:
1: Engaging in social activities together. Visions supports weekly sober fun activities and recovery fun groups. Clients in our extended care have regular weekend activities such as paintball, beach trips, gardening, hiking, et cetera.
2: Having a spiritual support community such as Young People’s AA, where the young people are in charge of their own groups. This creates a sense of empowerment and encourages healthy independence.
3: Allow the clients to support one another. When a client asks if they can check in with another client, we almost never say no. It’s important that the clients see each other as a support system, especially post treatment.
4: Alumni activities. Keep our former clients in contact with each other and remind them of the support system they have in place. Our annual Alumni Weekend is a prime example of this. Additionally, all alumni are encouraged to come to the Friday night recovery meeting.
5: Visions encourages alumni to sponsor current clients and to come back to work at Visions as employees. This way, clients can see the full cycle of recovery.
We are looking forward to seeing alumni and current clients and their families at the upcoming Alumni Weekend. This community is at the core of what we do, and supporting families in their recovery is our heart. It is always a joy to see our alumni thriving in their recovery and reconnecting with them.
An adolescent outpatient treatment facility may be what your child needs to overcome their issues. As a parent, it can be difficult to raise a teenager. That job becomes even more difficult when your teenager has a substance abuse issue, mental health concern, or eating disorder. Many parents try to address these issues themselves by relying upon discipline to change their teenager’s behavior. The truth is that many of these issues are virtually impossible to overcome without professional assistance. To provide your child and your family with the tools necessary to adapt to a healthy lifestyle, it is important to find the top California treatment center.
With two outpatient facilities in the Los Angeles area, the experts at Visions Adolescent Treatment Centers provide personalized adolescent outpatient treatment. The team at Visions understands that adolescents have unique needs due to their ongoing physical, mental, and emotional development. Each client’s treatment plan is designed by taking into account their unique needs, their ongoing development, and their own goals and objectives for their treatment. These things make Visions Adolescent Treatment Centers the top adolescent outpatient treatment centers in California.
In order to be eligible for treatment at Visions, individuals must:
Be between the ages of 13 and 18
Have a parent or guardian who will be involved in the treatment process
There are two programs for treatment in the outpatient centers:
1st Step Program
The 1st Step Program preserves the teen’s individuality while giving them the tools needed to be successful after treatment. This eight week program has sessions two to three times a week that include:
Individual therapy
Family therapy
Group therapy
Drug testing
The 1st Step Program can be the entry into a treatment program for someone who has never before received professional assistance. The program may also be used to transition individuals who received inpatient treatment back into their everyday lives. For both sets of individuals, the staff at Visions provides the support necessary to achieve success.
Intensive Outpatient Program
The intensive outpatient program is the next step in recovery, and provides a comprehensive approach to treatment in three phases over the course of one year:
Months one and two – Primary Care
Months three to six – Continuing Care
Months seven to twelve – Aftercare planning
In addition to the sessions provided by the 1st Step Program, sessions during the one year program include:
Multi-modal group sessions – These sessions are held weekly by the family therapist to allow families to address common issues in a comfortable and safe atmosphere. Common topics include communication, boundaries, and handling conflict. The sessions also serve as a support group to allow families to meet with others who are in a similar situation.
Parental support groups – These sessions are specifically designed to help parents who are dealing with an adolescent in treatment. Topics such as managing stress, effective methods of discipline, and healthy modes of communication are commonly discussed.
The goal of the intensive program is to open the lines of communication within the family in order to heal the family unit as a whole and to give the family the tools necessary to recognize and address symptoms of dysfunction. This outpatient program also looks at the continuing support needs after leaving treatment and works to put clients in touch with the necessary community resources for ongoing improvement.
Treatment Goals
Despite being tailored to the needs of each individual, there are several common goals for Visions’ adolescent outpatient treatment programs:
Providing the motivation and encouragement to develop healthy habits and adopt a clean lifestyle
Equipping clients with better problem solving strategies
Identifying how the negative behavior impacted the life of the teen and the people around them
Assessing and addressing the psychological and psychiatric needs of each client
Establishment of coping mechanisms to deal with stressful situations without resulting to negative behavior
Involvement of the family in the recovery process
Contact a counselor today for additional information on the adolescent outpatient treatment facility at Visions Adolescent Treatment Centers. Please click below to schedule your consultation or call us at 866-889-3665.
Bill Hoban has been our infallible Clinical Director for the last 12 years. His expertise and dedication helped make Visions the program it is today. It has been an honor working with him in that capacity. Recently, Bill has stepped down from his role as Clinical Director; he has passed the torch to the inimitable Fiona Ray as she steps into her new role as Clinical Director.
Fiona’s had an inspired vision for our clinical growth. Her fierce determination to execute positive change and create a solid team in our Outpatient facilities has been remarkable and we are excited to have her take on this role and do the same for our residential team. In her role as Director of Outpatient Services, Fiona created an environment replete with a dedicated staff willing to stand on the front lines alongside her to ensure that clients get the best care available. Fiona is not afraid of change, nor is she afraid to make the tough decisions sometimes necessary in treatment; she does it with compassion and wise intention. She is keen on creating an environment that is supportive and respectful for her staff to flourish and be the team they are meant to be.
We are thrilled to support Fiona Ray in new her position as Clinical Director. She is a well-respected fixture in the recovery community, recognized for her tenacity, dedication, and quiet, but fierce presence. Fiona has this ability to approach difficulty in a calm, collected way while making a family feel secure, supported and cared for. She has been instrumental in building out our Extended Care program, Launch, and the DBT training for the staff. Fiona’s desire to create an environment that is healing and empowering for clients and co-workers is astounding. Her drive to make Visions the best adolescent treatment is something to behold. Fiona is one of a kind and we consider ourselves deeply fortunate to have her in our midst.
Are you faced with a big breakup and having trouble letting go? We all know breaking up is hard to do. It’s tough whether you’re in a failing relationship, a waning friendship, a job that isn’t working out, a partnership that feels splintered, or any relationship that has simply stopped serving you. What if that relationship you so desperately need to end is your relationship with drugs and alcohol? What if the relationship that isn’t serving you is your relationship with your anger or greed? Being faced with a breakup of this caliber is tough.
It’s not ironic to me that we stay when we should go. Letting go is hard. It’s scary. It’s full of what-ifs and the unknown. Letting go of something that isn’t working can mean failure, but really what it most often shows us is great success. Our attachment to the familiar holds us back from investigating and cultivating change. In fact, change is something many of us fear. I once knew someone who was so afraid of change that he stayed in the same house, wore the same clothes, ate the same foods, spoke to the same people, and lived in the same town, all to his detriment. Every time an opportunity for change appeared, he recoiled, and became angry, volatile, even. The unknown was unbearable; change was his bogeyman. He ended up stuck in the sticky bitterness of his fear.
Addiction and the behaviors around addiction represent an unhealthy relationship. Addiction is that relationship we attach to while spinning out of control, creating external and internal harm, along with a cycle of shame. This relationship with addiction reminds me of the abuse cycle itself:
We are intimidated by it
We feel threatened by it
We feel bad about ourselves because of it
It isolates us and controls our relationships
We deny its existence
We lose our jobs or can’t get a job
It makes us financially unstable
It lies to us, making us feel good so we forget and start all over
These relationships with addiction and anger are the ones we need to end. Breaking up is hard to do. In letting go and moving toward freedom, we face the unknown, and often times, we have to face the thing we were hiding with our addiction. Things like untreated mental illness, poverty, sexual abuse, domestic violence, alcoholic parents or caregivers, and untended trauma are daunting. They are the beasts in the shadows. Still, the relationship to addiction has to end in order for any truths to come out. We have to lean toward our difficulties so we can eventually move through them. This is the breakup of your life: the one that will change your life for the better, and the one that will ultimately set you free.
Your relationship to addiction does not serve you. It never did. This breakup? It will serve you well. Recovery will set you on a path to heal. You will learn to set healthy boundaries; you will learn to love yourself; you will learn to be of service. You will learn to let go.
Remember this: Asking for help is a form of self-care, and accepting it is a form of self-love. You are worth it.
Today’s society puts a lot of pressure and stress on children. Some resort to harmful coping skills. Centers specializing in adolescents are necessary due to their unique developmental issues and the contradictions in values and belief systems they often grow up with. Visions Adolescent Treatment Centers opened in 2002 to provide healing for children ages 13–18. Most patients come from southern California while others come from big cities like New York City, Chicago, and internationally.
Visions was created to provide cutting edge adolescent outpatient treatment for mental health, substance abuse, and family therapy. The original founding clinicians have stayed with Visions while several dynamic team members have been added on for the growth of the program. The treatment team consists of highly skilled professionals all specializing in adolescent care. Each patient is assigned a Counselor to work with through the treatment. Other specialists are called upon as needed:
A Psychosocial Assessment is performed to review an adolescent’s medical history, family history, leisure and social functioning, developmental history, educational functioning, legal history, drug and alcohol history, and any significant events that could affect the adolescent outpatient treatment process.
Visions Adolescent Outpatient Counseling center has two convenient locations in Los Angeles. Visions’ adolescent outpatient treatment is offered in the afternoon allowing the patient to continue with daily activities and go home in the evenings to the love and support of family. The center is open from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm with Wednesday for rest. Regular drug tests are administered for the safety of the children.
Visions’ goals in adolescent outpatient treatment for Mental Health:
Encourage and motivate the adolescent to obtain a healthy lifestyle.
Help the adolescent to develop effective problem-solving strategies.
Assist the adolescent in recognizing destructive behaviors and the impact on family and friends.
Help the adolescent change problematic attitudes which stimulate a relapse.
Visions’ objectives for treatment in Substance Abuse & Co-Occurring Disorders:
Support the adolescent to use the 12-step philosophy and encourage participation in Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), and/or Cocaine Anonymous (CA).
Assist the adolescent in identifying unhealthy coping mechanisms.
Assess and meet the psychological and psychiatric needs of the adolescent.
Assess and meet the adolescent’s medical needs.
The adolescent outpatient treatment comprises of several solution-based treatment programs for the individual, group, and family. Family members, significant others, and guardians are urged to participate in the treatment programs for a successful recovery.
Individual Treatment
1st Step Program is an introduction for the adolescent to the beginning of the treatment process. The program helps families and adolescents reintegrate into everyday life after long term treatment. Visions’ staff walk parents through the reality of their child’s new lifestyle.
8 Weeks of Clinical Support
2 to 3 Nights Per Week
Includes 1 Individual Session
Intensive Outpatient Program represents the next step in care. Visions’ staff helps in opening communication among family to address existing psychiatric and/or therapeutic needs and develop a solid foundation of support in the community.
1 Year of Clinical Support
Individual Sessions
Family Sessions
12-Step Program Implemented for Teens with Addictive Behaviors
Treatment Planning
Information collected during the assessment process is used to create a Treatment Plan. The plan identifies issues to be addressed during the adolescent outpatient treatment. The Counselor meets with the adolescent to review the Treatment Plan and ensure complete understanding of expectations and goals.
Family Treatment
Studies have shown that the best outcome for treatment depends on the family’s understanding and participation in the therapeutic process. Majority of Visions’ families share the same feelings about their child’s issues before and during treatment.
Fear
Helplessness
Hopelessness
Anxiety
Anger
Multi-Family Group
A Family Therapist leads the group on a weekly basis. The multi-family group addresses common issues to all families. The group also provides families with feedback and support from other family members who share similar experiences.
Individual Family Sessions
A Family Therapist meets the patient along with the family to address conflicts that the family may feel uncomfortable discussing in group sessions.
Discharge & Aftercare
A patient is given a Discharge Plan after discharge from the adolescent outpatient treatment. The long term treatment plan was developed by the Counselor with input from the patient and the treatment team.
Alumni Program
The Fourth Dimension is open to all former patients of the adolescent outpatient treatment program. Adolescents are able to attend aftercare groups on an on-going basis, up to two groups a week. Individual Sessions are available on a fee for service basis. The Visions Alumni Coordinator makes support calls for crisis intervention or relapse prevention. Annual alumni events are held for the adolescents and family members.
Winter Ski/Snowboard Trip
Alumni Family Weekend
Alumni vs. Staff Softball Game
Knott’s Scary Farm Night
Magic Mountain
Adolescents do not simply walk out the door of Visions Centers once treatment ends. Visions provides care beyond adolescent outpatient treatment allowing the child to find help when needed. Visions Adolescent Treatment Centers are a top choice for many around the world. Stop living in fear and let Visions treatment centers help.
Visions Outpatient works out of network with insurance. We will provide the following services to our Outpatient families: Benefit Verification, Pre-Authorization, Utilization Review, Billing & Collections.
Visions Residential is a private pay program and full payment is required from the family. Our team will assist with insurance benefit verification & utilization review.
Please click below to schedule your consultation or call us at 866-889-3665.
With addiction and mental illness comes something that we often don’t want to look at, which is grief and the deep sense of loss that arrives when we or a family member steps into recovery. Drugs and alcohol and/or mental illness are often viewed as the villains in the aftermath of addiction. But the underlying weight of grief often gets shoved to the side or bypassed entirely.
The truth is, grief can be crippling. It can take the wind out of us and make us feel like we’ve landed flat on our faces, gasping for air. When we ignore it, or devalue the importance of the grieving process, we suffer more.
Mental illness and/or addiction may have ripped your family at the seams. It may have poked holes in your belief system, and placed a shadow on your hopes and dreams for your family. The truth is, everyone suffers: the one with the disease and the ones close to them.
I grew up with a parent mired by the tragedy of her own childhood, which was fraught with a mentally ill mother and a stoic father. Now, I see this same parent as an adult and it affords me the opportunity to recognize the untended grief and loss she’s endured and the great suffering that has resulted. A large portion of our existence in a scenario like this revolves around survival and learning how to endure the shame and fear associated with our circumstances. It’s not uncommon for the grief we feel to be ignored or for us to feel as though it is something to endure.
How can we stand tall in the midst of suffering while honoring our grief?
Talk about it. Develop a relationship with someone you trust that can help you process your feelings. It could be a counselor, a therapist, a psychologist, a good friend. What we hold onto holds onto us. Processing grief is part acknowledgement and part letting go. It evolves and becomes something we can hold with care instead of treating it like a hot stone.
Practice self-care. Take walks, meditate, do yoga, surf, get a massage, take a bath. Indulge in yourself. Healing is hard work; it’s important to nurture ourselves in the process.
Lean toward your difficulty. As counterintuitive as that may sound, this is ultimately the way out. That which we fear, can hold us back. We have to find a way to feel our feelings, touch our own hearts with kindness and compassion, and begin the process of finding acceptance and letting go. Take baby steps here. You don’t have to take on the high dive just yet.
Grief is present all around us. In adolescence, we grieve the loss of childhood and the inference of responsibility. In recovery, we grieve the person we were, the things we missed, and the damage we did. We also grieve the perceived “fun” guy/gal we thought we were. Be patient: recovery will afford you many more fulfilling ways of having fun. This list goes on, but it doesn’t have to be daunting.
My experience has shown me that when I lean toward the thing I fear, the fear lessons. When I acknowledge the shadow side and hold the difficulties with compassion, the light starts to trickle in. I suffer when I turn away, and when I ignore the suffering, it becomes more unbearable. The work in recovery teaches us that we can walk through difficulties with grace, we can begin to feel our feelings and we can crack open the barriers around our hearts. With our feet planted on the earth, and our minds open to possibility, the plight of suffering has a place to fly free.
Drugs and alcohol have become easily accessible for adolescents leading to an increase in abuse. Visions Adolescent Treatment Centers were founded on the mission of providing cutting edge mental health, substance abuse and family treatment. Visions has been administering world class teen outpatient counseling since 2002. Majority of patients come from southern California while others come from big cities like NYC, Chicago as well as internationally.
Adolescents must be approached differently due to their unique developmental issues, contradictions in their beliefs, and environment. Visions administers clinically-based treatment options for the adolescent and the family as a whole. Visions has two locations conveniently located in Los Angeles offering teen outpatient counseling. Children ages 13 to 18 years are accepted into the program. Session are held 4:00 to 9:00 pm Monday to Friday with Wednesday off allowing the adolescent to continue with normal daily activities before attending teen outpatient counseling and go home afterwards to a loving and supportive family.
Visions supports every adolescent to become involved in community-based resources including healthy peer groups. Visions’ goals in teen outpatient counseling for drug and alcohol abuse:
Encourage and motivate the adolescent to achieve and sustain abstinence.
Assist the adolescent with identifying situations where drugs and alcohol were used to cope with life’s problems.
Help the adolescent to develop new effective problem-solving strategies.
Assist the adolescent with recognizing and acknowledging the existence of destructive behaviors and the impact on family, friends and future.
Support the adolescent to use the 12-step philosophy and encourage participation in Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), and/or Cocaine Anonymous (CA).
Visions’ highly skilled professionals use effective techniques and current modalities in teen outpatient counseling.
1st Step Program – introduction to the beginning of the treatment process and help families and teens reintegrate into everyday life after long term treatment
8 Weeks of Clinical Support
2 to 3 Nights Per Week Including:
1 Individual Session
Intensive Outpatient Program – the next step in care in which the staff is committed to opening communication up amongst the family.
1 Year of Clinical Support
Individual Sessions
Family Sessions
12-Step Program Implemented for Teens with Addictive Behaviors
Visions’ original founding clinicians have stayed with the program while adding several dynamic team members for continued growth. A Medical Doctor conducts a history and physical to determine admission. The Psychiatric Director performs a psychiatric evaluation. A patient in teen outpatient counseling is assigned a personal Licensed Therapist and Counselor. All services are performed by trained personnel under the supervision of the Program Director.
Other specialties called upon as needed in teen outpatient counseling:
Psychologists
Registered Dietitian
Supervising Nurse
Art Therapists
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Program admission involves several assessments of each adolescent’s condition and specific issues or needs, including medical, psychiatric, and psychosocial status.
Psychosocial Assessment – reviews medical history, family history, leisure and social functioning, developmental history, educational functioning, legal history, drug and alcohol history and any significant events that could hinder the treatment process.
Substance Abuse Assessment – examines psychoactive substance use, establishes a baseline and identifies areas of need. The assessment helps determine if there are any psychological issues that would prohibit complete recovery and if there are any risks for danger to self or others.
Psychiatric Assessment – performed by the Psychiatric Director ensures the initial psychiatric evaluation is properly performed and psychiatric services are provided as needed. Adolescents diagnosed with a Mental Health or Co-Occurring Diagnosis (mental health and substance abuse disorders) will be admitted to the program.
Treatment Planning – identifies issues to be addressed in the treatment program and the desired goals. The Counselor and patient review the treatment plan together to ensure that the goals and expectations are fully understood.
Substance Abuse issues affect the entire family. Many Visions therapy involves family participation. Studies show that teen outpatient counseling is only successful with the involvement of family members
Family Treatment – guides the family in understanding and participating in the teen outpatient counseling process.
Multi-Family Group – facilitated weekly by a Family Therapist to address issues common to all families such as communication, handling conflicts, and maintaining boundaries. The group also provides families with feedback and support from other family members who are experiencing similar difficulties.
Individual Family Sessions – addresses conflicts that the family may feel uncomfortable bringing up in group sessions.
Family Education – addresses roles, rules and interaction patterns commonly found in families. They discuss common issues parents bring into treatment when addressing their own family.
Discharge & Aftercare
The Discharge Plan addresses continuing care needs and provides recommendations and arrangements for support services.
Visions Alumni Program
The Fourth Dimension, is open to graduates of teen outpatient counseling. Aftercare groups are offered on an on-going basis with attendance of up to two aftercare groups weekly. Individual sessions are available on a fee for service basis. Visions’ Alumni Coordinator makes support calls for crisis intervention and relapse prevention. The child will never feel alone.
Visions Outpatient works out of network with insurance. We will provide the following services to our Outpatient families: Benefit Verification, Pre-Authorization, Utilization Review, Billing & Collections.
Visions Residential is a private pay program and full payment is required from the family. Our team will assist with insurance benefit verification & utilization review.
Don’t suffer through the issues alone. Visions Adolescent Treatment Centers are here to help. Sign up now for drug and alcohol teen outpatient counseling and save a child.
Please click below to schedule your consultation or call us at 866-889-3665.
Ashley Harris, Recovery Mentor, has been with Visions since 2011. She is one of the bright lights that graces our facilities and touches the lives of our clients and staff alike. Ashley Harris is one of those people who make me smile at the mere thought of her. She motivates and inspires those around her to embrace life and its challenges with verve, honesty and presence. She skillfully uses humor to break the ice and to make people feel at ease and she has the ability to soften the hardest heart. Ashley retains a sense of youthful joie de vivre while maintaining firm boundaries, earning a deep sense of respect from those who get to work with her.
The staff echoes my sentiments about Ashley. Read on. You won’t be disappointed.
Ashley cares deeply about our kids and is a great role model. She is reliable, dedicated, and passionate about her work. She has a great sense of humor, and never takes herself too seriously. What an asset to the Visions family. High five Ashley! – Patrick Schettler
Ashley Harris is truly the gem of Visions. Her unconventional style truly reaches all Visions clients because she openly acknowledges her journey through recovery and celebrates everyday of it. Ashley holds no punches, and says the things we all wish we had the gall to say! – Corrin McWhinnie
The “everything” girl. She’s got it all. – Mie Kaneda
You can trust her with your darkest secret then share your dirtiest joke right after. – Roxie Fuller
I first met Ashley on her first night shift and immediately I knew she was going to be part of the family. I’ve seen Ashely grow into a strong, positive example of what we look for the clients to aspire to. She is a great role model for women in recovery and always brings a smile and laughter into the room where ever she is! It’s truly a blessing being able to work alongside her! – Nick Riefner
Ashley Harris is Visions’ face of social media! Her photos are worth a thousand words…Ashley’s excitement for our team and the families we help is so easily captured in photos. Harris and Hoban selfies are without a doubt some of my favorite posts! — Christina Howard Micklish
Read on for Ashley’s answers to our 10 questions. Her wise wit is well-played!
1: What makes you laugh with complete abandon?
I laugh a lot every day- usually at inappropriate humor. I love a good “That’s What She Said,” and potty humor is a weakness. My cats make me laugh a lot too. Lately, I’ve been finding myself laughing at my own ridiculous thoughts–the things I get mad about and daily frustrations now tend to make me smile and realize it’s not that serious.
2: Are you a landlubber or seafaring lass?
I’m comfortable with both. There’s something incredibly calming about the ocean though. For the first 6 months of my recovery it was my higher power.
3: Do you sing in the shower?
Yes! Who doesn’t? My neighbors probably don’t appreciate it but it happens. I turn into Whitney and Adele as soon as the water starts. On rare occasions I think I’m Biggie.
4: SuperMan or Lex Luther at 6 Flags?
Lex Luther, hands down.
5: Funniest April Fool’s day stunt?
People are always shocked by my lack of participation in April Fool’s day. I guess I just assume that people are too paranoid that day to really fall for anything so I do it throughout the year to keep people on their toes! I usually just try to scare people as much as possible.
6: Top three things on your bucket list are:
Oh man. This one is tough.
1. I want to travel. I’ve always wanted to go to Iceland.
2. When I was 12, I promised myself I would live in Australia for at least a year.
3. Have as many people say “You’ve changed my life” to me as I’ve said to people in my life.
7: If you could say anything to your teen self, what would you say?
I would tell myself it gets better. Everything always does. I struggled with a lot of various issues as a teen and I wish I could give myself the kindness and compassion that I now have for myself. I would tell myself to slow down and take time for me. But knowing me, I wouldn’t have listened.
8: Would you rather sing karaoke or do stand-up comedy?
Karaoke for sure–But not alone. No one wants to hear that, unless it’s a Pearl Jam song. I can do a killer Eddie Vedder impression.
9: What superhero are you?
DA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA BATMAAAAAAAN
10: Why do you choose to work for Visions?
I love Visions. I love the clients and the opportunity I get to help them. It’s amazing seeing them come in wounded and scared and watching the light come on. They get their fire back. Being a part of that process blows me away on a daily basis. Some of the best people in the world work with Visions and they’ve taught me a lot about the industry, relationships, and myself. Visions really is a family–we fight and bicker sometimes but at the end of the day we all have each other’s backs and it’s incredible.
More rehabilitation centers are being developed around the world. Some cater strictly to children due to their crucial stage of physical and mental development. Visions Adolescent Treatment Centers opened in 2002 with a mission of providing cutting edge mental health, substance abuse, and family treatment. Patients come from southern California, and big cities like NYC and Chicago, as well as internationally.
Visions has two Los Angeles centers proving adolescent outpatient counseling from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. Monday to Friday with Wednesday for rest. Outpatient counseling is ideal for those who do not need 24-hour care. Afternoon schedules allow the teen to continue with daily activities before sessions.
The objectives for adolescent outpatient counseling in Mental Health:
Encourage and motivate to achieve and sustain a healthy lifestyle
Help to develop new, more effective problem-solving strategies
Assist in recognizing and acknowledging the existence of mental health issues and the impact on family, friends, and future
Help recognize and change problematic attitudes which stimulate a relapse
The goals for treating Substance Abuse & Co-Occurring Disorders in teens:
Assist in identifying unhealthy and/or negative coping mechanisms
Assist with identifying situations where drugs and alcohol were used to cope with life’s problems, and understanding that using drugs and alcohol to cope does not work
Support with the 12-step philosophy and encourage participation in Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), and/or Cocaine Anonymous (CA)
Assess and meet the psychological and psychiatric needs
Visions uses effective techniques and current modalities to treat troubled teens.
1st Step Program – helps families and teens reintegrate into everyday life after long term treatment. Parents are walked through the reality of their teen’s new lifestyle.
8 Weeks of Clinical Support
2 to 3 Nights Per Week
Includes 1 Individual Session
Intensive Outpatient Program – assists in communication amongst the family, addressing existing co-occurring psychiatric and/or therapeutic needs and developing support within the community.
1 Year of Clinical Support
Individual Sessions
Family Sessions
Visions’ founding clinicians have stayed with the program while several dynamic team members have been added for continued growth of the adolescent outpatient counseling. Each teen is assigned a Counselor and Licensed Therapist to work with throughout the program. A Program Director supervises all counseling services.
Other consultants called upon as needed:
Psychiatrist
Psychologists
Medical Doctors
Registered Dietician
Art Therapist
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Admission into the adolescent outpatient counseling involves several comprehensive assessments. When required, other sources used include family, previous treatment professionals, teachers, and community experts.
Psychosocial Assessment – reviews the education, social functioning, drug, alcohol, medical, family, and developmental history.
Substance Abuse Assessment – examines psychoactive use and evaluates the teen’s treatment and recovery belief and determines any indication of treatment resistance.
Psychiatric Assessment – performed by the Psychiatric Director to ensure the initial psychiatric evaluation is properly administered and psychiatric services are provided.
Treatment Planning – utilizes information collected during the assessment process to identify issues to be addressed in the treatment programs and desired goals.
Visions’ advocates for family involvement in treatment. It is proven that the best outcome for treatment relies on the participation of the family in the therapeutic process. Mental Health and Substance Abuse affects the entire family with nearly 100 percent of patients sharing the same feelings prior to and during treatment.
Fear
Helplessness
Hopelessness
Anxiety
Anger
The adolescent outpatient counseling program includes a minimum of 5 weekly hours of family-focused therapy.
Multi-Family Group – led by a Family Therapist every Saturday. Issues common to all families are addressed such as communication, handling conflicts, and maintaining boundaries. The families are also provided with feedback and support from other family members sharing similar experiences.
Individual Family Sessions – addresses conflicts that the family may feel uncomfortable bringing up in group sessions. Individual patient and family members meet with a Family Therapist to assess needs in completing treatment goals.
Family Education – provides adolescent and families with information on the progression and stages of family illnesses. Parents discuss common issues each family deals with. The goal is to teach the teen and family members an understanding of typical roles and family rules that people act out in problem families.
Discharge & Aftercare
The Discharge Plan and Continuing Care Plan are developed upon admission into the adolescent outpatient counseling program by the Counselor with input from both the patient and the treatment team. The plan addresses continuing care needs that may include therapeutic schools, individual and family therapy, medication management, and/or outpatient programs.
Visions Outpatient works out of network with insurance. We will provide the following services to our outpatient families: benefit verification, pre-authorization, utilization review, billing and collections.
The Fourth Dimension
Completion of the adolescent outpatient counseling allows for membership in the Visions Alumni Program. Teens attend up to two aftercare groups a week on an on-going basis. Individual sessions are available on a fee for service basis. The Visions Alumni Coordinator makes support calls for crisis intervention or relapse prevention. The alumni group holds annual events for adolescent and family members.
Winter Ski/Snowboard Trip
Alumni Family Weekend
Alumni vs. Staff Softball Game
Knott’s Scary Farm Night
Magic Mountain
Visions Residential is a private pay program and full payment is required from the family. Our team will assist with insurance benefit verification and utilization review.
Visions Treatment Centers are a popular choice for families around the world. All personnel are trained in adolescent outpatient counseling for troubled teens.
Please click below or call us at 866-889-3665 to schedule your consultation.
Removing oneself from the isolation of overwhelm and exhaustion and stepping into vulnerability is part and parcel to taking care of our own needs. It’s not necessarily a sign of strength to strong-arm our way through our difficulties; however, we often get stuck in this idea that we have to “soldier on,” regardless of our own immediate needs.
Emotions come in waves. They can be placid waves or they can feel hurricane-like in their strength. It’s ok to fall apart and feel what we are feeling. It’s how we heal, how we lean into the shadow side, and how we traverse the difficult path of getting the help and support we need.
For some of us, we were taught early on that asking for help is a good thing. We were shown by example that it’s ok to take breaks to nourish our mind, body and spirit. We were shown that by engaging in acts of self-care, the ability to show up for others is greater.
Many of us have had different experiences and were shown that asking for help is a sign of weakness. The indication here is to place others first and do what we need to do for ourselves later. In a worse case scenario, “later” ends up being in the ER with symptoms of hypertension, a heart attack, or a stroke. Not taking care of ourselves sends the wrong message to our loved ones.
Self-care, asking for help and developing resilience are healthy practices for everyone. They are not limited to someone in recovery or someone who has experienced difficulties. If we engage in these practices and teach our loved ones to do the same, self-care and asking for help become second nature.
What is resilience anyway?
Simply put, resilience is being able to recover quickly from difficulties—to “spring back into shape.” More definitively it is,
1. the power or ability to return to the original form, position, etc., after being bent, compressed, or stretched; elasticity.
2. ability to recover readily from illness, depression, adversity, or the like; buoyancy.
Resilience isn’t something we are born with – it is cultivated through the development of self-regulatory and self-management skills. The more informed and aware we become around our feelings and needs, the more we cultivate and develop resilience. We become skilled in the ways we work through our difficulties. The more we are fortified (by self-care and asking for help), the easier it becomes to “spring back.”
Resilience is fostered by:
Having healthy and close relationships with family and friends
Having a positive view on yourself and and confidence in your abilities – Yes, you are enough.
