Rogers Memorial Hospital

The Child Center at Rogers Memorial Hospital provides sensitive, age-specific intensive psychiatric care for children ages 8 to 13. The nationally recognized treatment center provide a unique blend of intensive psychiatric care combined with education, experiential therapies and strong family involvement. Rogers Memorial Hospital is one of the few places in the country offering intensive cognitive-behavioral therapy for children.

Behavioral health concerns effectively treated include:

• Academic underachievement, avoidance, refusal
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Depression
• Disordered eating
• Family issues
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and OC-spectrum disorders
• Social anxiety disorder, panic disorder and other anxiety disorders
• Tic disorders; trichotillomania; Tourette syndrome
• Bipolar spectrum disorders
• Chronic medical conditions; co-morbid illnesses; complex cases

The length of stay at The Child Center is open-ended; the average length is 45-60 days. Primary treatment goals are to alleviate symptoms and to develop skills and coping techniques to achieve an improved level of functioning after discharge.

Why Treatment Is Effective

• Treatment services are directed by a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy services directed by a nationally recognized expert in anxiety disorders treatment
• Comprehensive assessment and personalized treatment plan
• Experienced child-friendly multidisciplinary treatment team
• Emphasis on patient and family education
• High staff-to-patient ratio ensures ongoing one-on-one interaction between patient and clinicians
• Onsite educational services, school advocacy and coordination of special education needs
• Comprehensive case management/coordination of continuing care

Admissions and Insurance Coverage

The Child Center can effectively treat males and females ages 8 to 13 who meet the following criteria:

• Have a primary diagnosis of a mental illness
• Demonstrate a willingness to receive treatment and a desire to recover
• Have a degree of cognitive and psychological functioning that allows him or her to benefit from residential treatment
• Be declared medically stable by a licensed physician
• Meet the admitting criteria for residential treatment

An initial screening with the prospective family and patient starts the admission process. Based on a review, a psychiatrist will recommend an appropriate level of care. After the review, admissions staff will share the psychiatrist’s recommendation with the family.

As a courtesy to prospective patients, admissions staff will contact the individual’s insurance carrier to obtain a quote of insurance benefits. Benefit availability, service providers, and medical necessity criteria vary with each insurance plan. We recommend that potential patients check with their medical insurance carrier to determine what is covered and if there are any exclusions. After admission, patient care specialists can provide assistance with remaining questions or concerns.

Treatment Team

The center provide comprehensive, multi-modal treatment with 24-hour a day supervision under the direction of board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrists.

Other members of the treatment team may include:

• Licensed clinical psychologists
• Pediatric, family practice and internal medicine physicians
• Registered psychiatric nurses
• Registered dietitians
• Master’s-level therapists
• Behavioral specialists
• Experiential therapists
• Certified teachers
• Child and adolescent trained counselors

On admission, each patient and his or her family meets with members of the multidisciplinary treatment team for a comprehensive evaluation, that is used to develop a personalized plan of care to address identified issues.

Onsite Access to Expert Resources

Our child and adolescent inpatient unit is readily accessible for psychiatric emergencies. Other treatment centers on our campus provide expert consultation for eating disorders, chemical dependency and other behavioral health concerns.

Treatment Components

The treatment team uses a number of treatment components to help each patient and his or her family deal with the psychological issues that brought them to the center. Our treatment philosophy emphasizes psychiatric education and therapy through a multidisciplinary program with age-appropriate, comprehensive therapies. According to the goals and objectives of their individualized treatment plan, each patient and his or her family may participate in the following components:

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) treatment helps patients identify and challenge their symptoms with the goal of developing alternative coping skills and more appropriate responses to stressors. Under the supervision of a licensed clinical psychologist, the behavioral specialist develops a treatment hierarchy and then works individually with each patient to complete his or her daily exercises and assignments. The behavioral specialist provides leadership during conflicts and in making individual program adjustments or specialized behavioral services to meet emotional, cognitive, and age-appropriate needs.

Daily Living Skills Training

Patients have the responsibility of maintaining their bedrooms, washing their personal laundry and jointly being responsible for care of their living areas. Residential counselors provide support and education as patients learn to complete these daily living responsibilities. Practicing independent living skills on a daily basis helps create a sense of belonging to the residential community.

Family Education and Family Therapy

Family is a vital part of the patient’s treatment. Active involvement of family members helps ensure a successful transition back home. Family members become involved by learning about the illness, its consequences and how to support their loved one during the ongoing recovery process. Families participate in weekly therapy. During these sessions the patient’s illness is considered within the context of the family’s communication patterns, value and belief system, rules, roles and expectations. Family members also have therapeutic visitations to practice new behavior and symptom management strategies with the patient.

Group Therapy

Led by a master’s-level therapist, group therapy specializes in focusing on identifying destructive and self-defeating behavior patterns, identifying and expressing feelings appropriately, and the development of healthy decision-making skills and coping strategies. The behavioral specialist may also be present during therapy to provide additional support and intervention.

Individual Therapy

Each patient has psychotherapy sessions with a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist, psychotherapist and behavior specialist several times a week. Initially, the goal of individual therapy sessions is to establish a healthy therapeutic relationship and to discuss the issues which brought the patient to the center. As treatment progresses, the emphasis shifts to providing guidance, support, and interventions during day-to-day conflicts and to prepare for discharge.

Pharmacotherapy

The psychiatrist meets with the patient and family to complete a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation, which includes history, diagnosis and treatment recommendations. Subsequently, the psychiatrist meets several times per week with the patient to monitor medications and review medical status. During these sessions, the psychiatrist also discusses treatment progress, obstacles, and provides guidance and support.

Experiential Therapy

Each patient may participate in a range of experiential therapy groups during the week. Experiential therapy may include art, music and recreation components that assist in exploring communication, cooperation and problem solving skills in a variety of settings. These therapies provide opportunities for patients to develop self awareness, critical decision making skills and increase personal responsibility.

Education Services and School Advocacy

All patients attend school each weekday. Our education center is staffed by certified teachers experienced in dealing with students who have behavioral, emotional or cognitive issues and/or learning disabilities. With proper consent, the teachers work directly with the patient’s school to assess the educational needs and encourage skill development. Reintegration recommendations are made to the patient, parents, and school professionals.

Nutrition and Health Education or Therapy

Treatment team members reinforce good nutrition and other healthy living patterns. Nutritional education and counseling by a registered dietitian or a registered nurse is provided in a group setting; individual nutritional therapy sessions are provided as directed by the treatment team.

Typical Daily Schedule

The Child Center provides structured therapeutic programming seven days per week. A typical weekday schedule is shown:

Morning

Afternoon

Evening

In addition to the individual sessions with the psychiatrist and other treatment team members scheduled throughout the day and week, residential counselors are available 24 hours a day on each unit. The residential counselors provide assistance and one-to-one support to patients on treatment compliance, setting daily goals, problem solving, feelings identification and other issues that are part of each patient’s treatment plan.

Continuing Care and Discharge Planning

Rogers Memorial Hospital is committed to providing smooth transitions for patients so they may continue their recovery after discharge from the Child Center. Plans for continuing care begin shortly after the patient’s arrival.

The treatment team works closely with the referring professionals to communicate treatment progress and assist in making discharge plans. If necessary, staff will assist with locating resources needed to provide continuing care.

The treatment team monitors each patient’s progress and level of participation. If, based on the patient’s behavior, the center is no longer a helpful or appropriate form of treatment, or if the patient needs a different level of care, the treatment team will explore options with the patient and his or her family.

Should they become necessary, Rogers Memorial Hospital provides short-term acute stabilization of psychiatric symptoms on its inpatient units. Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital, located approximately two miles away, provides pharmacy and laboratory testing services, as well as emergency medical care.