Programs

Specialized Programs

Highly specialized residential programs provide 24-hour care to a broad spectrum of adolescent girls and boys age 11-17 with psychiatric, neuropsychiatric, and developmentally delayed disturbances. These patients may present with a diverse array of symptoms such as severe impulse control, explosiveness, disruptive behaviors, mood disturbance, learning and processing impairments and disturbance of social functioning. Unique therapeutic approaches and a behavior enhancement program create a new environment for young people to experience success. Patients learn to modulate and regulate their behavior, manage anger and mood, and improve their social functioning. Many of the young people admitted to San Marcos Treatment Center have experienced multiple treatment failures and are difficult to manage.

Intermediate to Long-term Residential Treatment Center for Females and Males

• Multi-focal/Prescription Plan
• Comprehensive assessment, stabilization, and discharge planning program
• Multi-focal/General Psychiatric
• CHAMPUS/TRICARE approved
• Neuropsychiatric Program
• Developmentally Delayed Program
• Neuropsychiatric/Sexually Offensive Behaviors Program
• Developmentally Delayed/Sexually Offensive Behaviors Program
• Socialization/At-Risk Program

Behavior Enhancement Program

The Behavior Enhancement Program is a key component of the treatment milieu. It is based upon the following behavior principles:

1. Positive reinforcement is a powerful intervention that can be used to teach, increase, and maintain adaptive behaviors.
2. Negative behaviors will decrease in frequency and duration when positive behaviors are reinforced.
3. Consistent and understandable consequences and rewards for behavior assist individuals in developing control and accepting responsibility for their own behavior.
4. Staff can provide a therapeutic and consistent environment when they have guidelines and interventions for a variety of patient behaviors.
5. Patient progress and treatment interventions can be evaluated when a system for collection of reliable behavioral data is available.
6. Aversive or punitive approaches are not part of the program.

The Behavior Enhancement Program initially focuses on learning appropriate basic skills and following simple to moderately complex instructions.

Other areas of training include strengthening basic social interactional skills, increasing task completion without distraction or disruption, and beginning to recognize cause and effect relationships with regard to feelings and behavior.

Training occurs while each patient progresses to higher program levels, obtaining additional privileges. Later stages focus on the refinement of these basic skills with the intention of producing more responsible and accountable responses to the community (or others), improving academic skills, and gaining greater insight into resolving or coping with personal problems and/or patterns of behavior.