When a child has completed residential treatment for a condition like depression, substance abuse, or oppositional defiant disorder, the family often experiences mixed emotions. The joy of bringing the child home may be tinged with feelings of anxiety that the child will relapse, or that the family will be unable to provide the proper environment for the child’s continued progress. These concerns are totally normal. With careful planning, parents can avoid these pitfalls and ensure a smooth transition back to family, academic, and community life.
Family Life
A teen will only be released from a residential therapy program when he or she is truly ready. It is just as important for the family to be “ready” for the teen’s homecoming. This begins with choosing a program that provides support not just for the teen, but also for the entire family. An excellent residential program will offer family therapy and other measures to help everyone cope.
- Teens often need help with communication skills. Families can get into good communication habits – like having weekly family meetings – before the teen ever arrives home. They can also rehearse how to handle difficult situations that may arise.
- Family therapy offers the opportunity to practice other important skills like boundary setting or keeping calm in frustrating situations. More importantly, a family therapist can give parents the tools to model these behaviors for their children.
- A key factor in maintaining a teen’s positive progress is maintaining structure and stability. Before the child’s homecoming, it is critical to determine mutually agreeable rules and expectations. If two households are involved, caregivers should work together to reach agreeable guidelines.
Academic Life
Students returning from a residential program often face a kind of “culture shock” upon reentering a traditional school. They may have grown accustomed to smaller classes or self-directed learning. They may also face considerable obstacles if they return to the same school they attended before treatment. Parents can make the transition smoother by visiting the school before the child enrolls.
- If a student is getting specific accommodations or services while in treatment, parents should ask if these are also available at the traditional school. The guidance counselor can help draft a 504 plan, to ensure that a student gets the necessary support from teachers and other staff.
- Students may need extra help with time management. A student planner, along with a family calendar, will help a child juggle deadlines and important dates.
- Parents may want to consider enrolling the child in a new school. This is often the best option, because it gives the child a sense of having a “clean slate.”
Community Life
It is important that the community offers adequate resources for teens who complete residential programs. It is just as important, however, that the teen has plenty of opportunities to participate in that community, through volunteering and social groups.
- Teens will generally need continued outpatient therapy after exiting a residential program. Parents should seek out a therapist with a similar style and approach as the child has been seeing in treatment.
- In addition to seeking a therapist in the home community, families are encouraged to participate in aftercare opportunities provided by the therapeutic program. These are very helpful for the child and the family because they are structured to be a continuation of the therapy that began at the program. The aftercare counselor will help the child and the family maintain a sense of connectedness to the program, which provides much-needed guidance and support in the critical weeks after treatment.
- Opportunities to form social support groups and to contribute to the community through volunteering are essential. These activities foster a sense of belonging and purpose for teens.
- Access to programs like organized sports or performing arts provide teens with yet another constructive outlet for their emotions. These programs also encourage affirmative peer interactions.
With conscientious preparation, parents can smooth their teen’s transition from a residential therapy program, back to regular family, academic, and community life.
The information is provided for general reference purposes. It does not constitute medical or other professional advice and should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your child and adolescent psychiatrist or other physician.
