THE CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PROGRAM (CAP)
Joseph Gold, MD, Clinical Director
The Child and Adolescent Program (CAP) at McLean Hospital is one of the foremost clinical programs for helping young people and their families cope with psychiatric illness and the challenges it often brings. We offer a full spectrum of services: acute inpatient, partial hospitalization, short-and long-term residential, outpatient treatment and specialized academic programs, which are designed to emphasize each young person's strengths and promote recovery. Rapid, state-of-the-art diagnosis is integrated with thorough psychosocial assessment so that treatment is tailored to each child's needs.
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To achieve the best possible integration of education with treatment, McLean has developed special education schools and a Learning Evaluation Clinic. We also use classroom-based models on the residential and inpatient units.
Treatment Approach
Working collaboratively with family, referrers and agencies, staff members establish realistic treatment goals with each child and his/her caregivers. Family driven decisions and education are explicit components of every treatment plan. Active efforts are made to learn from the family, recognize the child's strengths and educate the family about the child's disorder. Staff members work closely with family members and their treatment providers to coordinate planning, strengthen the family system and provide the smoothest possible transition from the hospital's programs into the community.
On-Campus Services
Various levels of care are offered at McLean's campus in Belmont, Mass. The Adolescent Day & Residential Treatment Program provides structured, 24-hour care in an unlocked setting for adolescents ages 12 to 19, who require intensive short- or long-term care. The program serves both as an alternative to, and step-down from, acute inpatient hospital care and offers dialectical behavior therapy and anger management tracks. The short-term program has a specialty track for teens with substance abuse problems.
The Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) offers a highly structured intervention for children and adolescents ages 12 to 19 who are in acute crisis but can reside in the community after a stay in the ART . This program offers more intensive psychiatric supervision and treatment than is possible in outpatient settings. Hours are 9 am to 3 pm on weekdays.
The Partial Hospitalization Program is used almost exclusively as a step-down from the Adolescent Residential Program. This is required in order for staff to have an adequate opportunity to assess/evaluate an adolescent before they begin attending Partial Hospitalization Program on a more limited basis.
Outpatient services offer comprehensive treatment, including individual, group and family therapy, and psychopharmacology (medication management). Carefully designed therapy groups address children's social skill development and support for parents.
Professionals in the Learning Evaluation Clinic provide neuropsychiatric and educational evaluation, and work with school systems and parents to assess barriers to effective learning. They also aid in the development of educational strategies that make the most of the child's learning style.
Services Offered by McLean-Franciscan
Inpatient care, as well as partial hospital and residential services, also are provided at McLean's partner institution, the Franciscan Hospital for Children in Boston. All three services are managed by McLean Hospital. This joint effort unites the strengths of a premier mental health provider with Franciscan Children's, a leader in medical and rehabilitation services for children.
The short-term Inpatient Program treats children and adolescents ages 3 to 19, who require comprehensive psychiatric/psychosocial evaluation and brief intensive treatment. The program has the ability to manage co-morbid medical conditions and has a speciality track for developmentally disordered youth who are in psychiatric crisis.
A short-stay Partial Hospitalization Program, for ages 5 to 18, and a Residential Treatment Program, for ages 5 to 18, are available at the Franciscan.
Kennedy Hope Academy is a residential school utilizing applied behavior analysis (ABA) and positive behavioral supports (PBS) to provide state-of-the-art treatment to students, ages 5-21, who have challenging behaviors, autistic spectrum disorders, developmental disabilities, neurological disorders and/or concurrent psychiatric illnesses. KHA offers a year-round specialized education program as well as psychopharmacology, speech and occupational therapy and community-based recreation opportunities.
Academics
In an effort to integrate education and treatment, McLean offers a number of academic opportunities for children at its Belmont campus.
Pathways Academy (The Center for Neurointegrative Services - CNS) serves elementary through high school students with Asperger's disorder and related disorders. Social pragmatics, language skills and sensory motor integration are emphasized together with a full academic program.
The Arlington School is a fully accredited school for college-bound students, grades 7 to 12, who are involved in intensive psychotherapeutic treatment and require a highly structured, supportive environment for learning.
Camp New Connections
McLean's CNS offers a six-week, summer day camp for children, ages 7 through 17, who have Asperger's or nonverbal learning disorders.
McLean SouthEast Acute Residential Treatment (ART) Program
Located in Brockton, Mass., McLean provides a short-term adolescent residential treatment program, featuring substance abuse relapse prevention, expert psychiatric diagnosis and treatment, for ages 13 to 19.
Brockton Public Schools Therapeutic Support Program
McLean provides support, training and case management to students, families, educators and adjustment counselors in this high-need, urban setting.
Outreach to Public and Independent Schools
McLean's Child and Adolescent Program and Children's Hospital of Boston have collaborated to write An Adolescent Health and Wellness Curriculum for faculty, students and parents in middle and high schools, and are providing training to school personnel in its use. McLean's RALLY program provides training to prevention practitioners in the Boston Public Schools.
Support to Primary Care Pediatricians
McLean's Child and Adolescent Program (CAP) and Partners Psychiatry and Mental Health provide continuing medical education conferences for pediatricians and nurse practitioners in early detection, diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric and developmental disorders. Leadership of McLean's CAP has also helped to design a statewide, state-funded project to provide child psychiatry consultations to pediatricians.
Staff
The Child and Adolescent Program at McLean Hospital employs a multidisciplinary staff of child psychiatrists, neuropsychologists and psychologists, clinical social workers, nurses and advanced practice nurses, educators, mental health specialists and psychopharmacologists. Clinical staff has special expertise working with trauma survivors and treating substance abuse. In addition, staff members have extensive experience working with patients of diverse sociocultural and linguistic backgrounds. As clinicians, researchers and public educators, staff members are involved in serving and advocating for the mental health of young people.
Continuous Quality Improvement
McLean's strong focus on continuous quality improvement helps ensure that each child and adolescent receives the highest quality of care. Staff collects data regularly on many dimensions of clinical outcome and consumer satisfaction. The management team reviews these findings quarterly as a means to enhance all areas of service.
Research
McLean Hospital offers an outstanding, integrated research program, implementing the latest findings to improve the quality of each patient's life. McLean's respected research programs continue to shed new light on the roots of, and responses to, psychiatric illness. Ongoing studies stand to benefit present and future patients greatly, such as the development of new diagnostic instruments to assess the impact of childhood trauma.
Information and referrals
For further information, please call (800) 333-0338, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. McLean accepts Medicare, Medicaid, Blue Cross, and many other private insurance plans. Working plans also exist with managed-care companies.