Facts About Residential Treatment for Children

Residential treatment centers (RTC) provide services for children suffering from severe mental illness or emotional disorders. These facilities are staffed with qualified professionals, from psychiatrists and psychologists to educators. A child who is unable to function in a family and school setting without endangering herself or others can benefit from a stay in an RTC.

Residential Treatment Defined

• RTCs are places where a child lives away from her parents where she can be in a setting that allows her to receive and benefit from therapeutic treatment. The RTC will provide round-the-clock supervision to ensure her safety while she is in a school setting, interacting with her peers, participating in therapeutic activities and while she has free time. The staff includes psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, child care workers, kitchen and custodial staff.

Family Participation

• Families are encouraged to participate in their son's therapeutic program unless his emotional and psychological problems stem from family issues and the staff has evidence of the family's contribution to their son's problems. Even so, if Child Protective Services is involved with the family, this agency is likely to request family involvement to give the family the time they need to correct the issues that led to their son's admission to a residential treatment facility.

Short-Term Treatment

• Courses of psychological treatment have been growing shorter and shorter. Many insurance plans require the physician to refer to a psychologist, who is expected to complete a psychological evaluation to determine the need for treatment, type of treatment and level of treatment. The insurance company or Medicaid will make the final decision on these details. If residential treatment is indicated, the insurance company/Medicaid will approve for a specific time frame; extensions must be approved as they come up. RTCs now work with children for times as short as one month--to stabilize mental health and conduct an intensive evaluation of the child's needs.

Treatment Categories

• Children with severe mental illness who do not need the most restrictive level of placement can live short-term in an RTC and receive these types of treatment: psychoanalytic, behavior management, psychoeducational, group therapy, peer cultural and medication management. The setting within the RTC may be as closely structured as a child psychiatric hospital or may more closely resemble a group home.

Concerns About RTC Placement

• While RTC placement and treatment is beneficial for many children, concerns regarding the ability of the child to reenter his home environment, the inability to carry newly learned behavior to his old environment and the traumatic separation from his family can influence the decision regarding placement of a child needing intensive supervision and therapy. In addition, children can learn (and take home) the negative behaviors and actions of other children in the RTC. Parents, therapists and educators have to look at every facet of residential treatment when they are considering new treatments for the child.