鈥淲e take care of all the mental health issues that may surface during a crisis,鈥 says Tom Conover, MD, Medical Director for Youth Services, waving a copy of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 鈥淲e treat youth with mood disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, and psychosis, including schizophrenia, anxiety, and ADHD.鈥
The list goes on, but thankfully Huntsman Mental Health Institute (HMHI) doesn鈥檛 limit treatment to one or two disorders. As the only academic referral center for hundreds of miles in any direction, HMHI serves youth across the spectrum and at every stage of mental health disorders. Care may shift from inpatient to day treatment to outpatient services. Dedicated facilities also include a residential treatment center for girls.
Youth Services: Crisis Management
Youth inpatient services provide a safe and healing environment when children or teens present a danger to themselves or others. The program has been a linchpin of HMHI for years.
The disorder Youth Services treats most often is major depression with suicidal thoughts or acts. A significant proportion of patients with psychiatric illness or behavioral health problems will eventually need round-the-clock support.
鈥淭he experience and empathic care the nursing staff provides is really the key,鈥 says Conover. 鈥淏ut we have top-notch personnel at every level. It鈥檚 almost unheard of in an acute inpatient setting for every patient to have an individual therapist and regular individual and family therapy usually conducted by a psychologist.鈥
Inpatients also benefit from the exceptional continuity in the program. Conover has been the medical director for 10 years, and Rachelle Wilson, nurse manager, has worked in Youth Services for more than two decades.
鈥淚鈥檇 like the efforts of HMHI to build access, decrease stigma, get patients into the right care earlier, and eventually diminish the need for my services.鈥
Tom Conover, MD, Medical Director for Youth Services
Comprehensive Assessment & Treatment (CAT): Focus, Clarity, and Direction
Inpatient Youth Services stays typically last three to 10 days. Once patients are discharged, the CAT program ensures care continues. The multidisciplinary CAT team provides individualized and evidence-based treatment within a safe and supportive inpatient or residential environment.
The CAT program typically runs four to six weeks and covers three phases:
Focus: To help youth feel safe, they鈥檙e first familiarized with the treatment team, program, and routines.
Clarity: In the assessment phase, the team works with the patient and family to evaluate the youth and diagnose them. The patient normally undergoes full cognitive and educational assessments too.
Direction: The team then answers, 鈥淲hat鈥檚 next?鈥 and begins treatment, drawing on all the resources HMHI offers, from expressive therapy to the Treatment Resistant Mood Disorders Clinic.
Positive Outcomes
In the past decade, the CAT program has grown significantly, from about 20 kids a year in 2011 to more than 100 today. The team has strong measures for patient and family satisfaction, but Conover would like to conduct additional outcomes research.
鈥淢y favorite is when I get a call or email or letter,鈥 he says. Families frustrated before a child began treatment at HMHI often let him know of the great strides former patients have made. Still, Conover hopes to work his way out of a job.