{"id":1935,"date":"2013-07-25T13:28:55","date_gmt":"2013-07-25T13:28:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grafton.local\/?p=1935"},"modified":"2014-10-29T12:04:20","modified_gmt":"2014-10-29T16:04:20","slug":"teen-support-programs-expanding-to-address-growing-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/teen-support-programs-expanding-to-address-growing-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"Teen Support Programs Expanding To Address Growing Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"

‘I Didn’t Think I Was Good Enough’<\/b><\/p>\n

Emily May, a 17-year-old from Round Hill, credits Grafton\u2019s therapy program for helping her overcome her depression and anxiety. Many in Loudoun County\u2019s mental health community say more help is needed for teens like Emily.<\/p>\n

Just six months ago Emily May was a different person, she would tell you.<\/p>\n

Once a happy, confident teenager, she became overwhelmed with feelings of anxiousness and depression; so much so she began to wonder if life was worth living.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt got to the point where I was so hopeless, and I didn\u2019t see any reason to live,\u201d said Emily, who lives in Round Hill. \u201cI didn\u2019t think I was good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her mother took her to a counselor in Purcellville, who later referred Emily to an Intensive Outpatient Program for teens at Grafton Integrated Health Network<\/a>\u2019s Leesburg campus. Through group and one-on-one therapy, the after-school program helps teens manage, and overcome, their challenges brought on by a psychiatric condition.<\/p>\n

Emily graduated from the IOP program in April and, as her mother Teresa May says, is back to the joyful 17-year-old she remembers. \u201cIt\u2019s given her this boost of confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emily\u2019s is one success story, but area educators and those in Loudoun County\u2019s mental health community say there are many young people who are facing the same challenges, but the growth of services to guide them through them have not kept up with the county\u2019s population.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to emotional behavior disorders for teens, we really don\u2019t have very many options in Loudoun County,\u201d John J. Lody, director of Loudoun County Public Schools\u2019 Diagnostic and Prevention Services, said.<\/p>\n

When students\u2019 emotional or psychological challenges are beyond the help the school system can provide, Lody often refers them to therapists in private practices. \u201cBut by the time kids come home from school, most private practitioners are closing up shop at that point,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Intensive Outpatient Program, like the one offered at Grafton, is a good fit for Loudoun teens because it provides after-school outpatient support. \u201cIt\u2019s a step down from a day placement,\u201d Lody said. \u201cSo students can stay in their settings, [at school and at home].\u201d<\/p>\n

Lody presented some of these same points to leaders of Dominion Hospital<\/a> when they met with him several months ago to ask what mental health services Loudoun County lacked. As they heard more and more about the need for help geared toward teens, the hospital leaders decided to launch a program called Intensive Outpatient Program of Ashburn.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were receiving feedback from our patients, physicians and school contacts that this service was needed in Loudoun County,\u201d Cynthia Meyer, Dominion Hospital Interim CEO, said. \u201cThe benefit of providing more outpatient and preventative care services coupled with the needs of Loudoun County made the decision to develop our intensive outpatient program in Ashburn an easy one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The IOP, which is slated to begin this fall, will serve 13- to- 17-year- olds\u2014as well as 18-year-olds who are still in high school\u2014who battle depression, anxiety, mood disorders, self-injury and substance abuse. Similar to Grafton\u2019s IOP, most of the treatment will be done in group sessions, and patients will have a weekly one-on-one session with a clinician. Dominion Hospital is still determining the program\u2019s fees, but most insurance providers will cover the cost, according to the hospital\u2019s director of marketing and communications.<\/p>\n

Since 2010, Grafton has been the only health care provider to offer IOP for teens. It is designed to offer preventative therapy, so young people can get help before their challenges progress to the point that they need a 24-hour residential program. They can continue to go to school, live with their families and interact with their friends, and most find they make a new group of friends through the IOP.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helped me realize that I\u2019m not alone,\u201d 18-year-old Meghan Keys, who graduated from Grafton\u2019s IOP in April, said. \u201cPeople you know might be going through the same things, they just might not show it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many students who graduate from the program\u2014including Meghan and Emily\u2014continue to attend the sessions as peer mentors.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome are so anxious when they first come they can\u2019t get out of the car, but by the end of it, most don\u2019t want to leave,\u201d Jamie E. Bosserman, an IOP therapist at Grafton, said. \u201cSeeing someone else who has been successful gives these kids hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program cost $300 per three-hour session, but most health insurance providers cover the cost, according to Grafton\u2019s Director of Communications Shweta Adyanthaya.<\/p>\n

Grafton merged with Graydon Manor Outpatient Services in 2010, and has since provided an array of services for young children to adults at its tucked-away campus on Childrens Center Road on Leesburg\u2019s western boundary. The nonprofit organization also recently launched a new program called Applied Behavior Analysis, which helps children as young as 2 years old improve communication skills, motor control and their day-to-day living activities.<\/p>\n

Grafton\u2019s IOP for teens has room for eight teens at a time, but Adyanthaya said the organization\u2019s goal is to expand the program and possibly branch out to provide an IOP specifically for teens who struggle with substance abuse.<\/p>\n

The organization is flexible, she said, and wants to expand other areas of its services to meet the county\u2019s growing needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re open, really, to what the community needs,\u201d not just help for children, but individual adults and families,\u201d Adyanthaya said. \u201cI\u2019ve had parents say, when they get up to our Leesburg campus, that this is one of the hidden gems in our communities. We want people to know we\u2019re here and that help is only a phone call away.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are other local outpatient programs designed to help teens who have mental health challenges, but each offer a different setup and target different challenges. The National Alliance On Mental Illness<\/a> offers a Family-to-Family Education Program, geared toward parents of individuals struggling with mental illness. Inova Health System and others provide programs in Loudoun that focus on substance abuse, and Inova Kellar Center<\/a> offers an IOP for teens just over the county line in Fairfax County.<\/p>\n

Loudoun Friends of Mental Health Vice President Judy Hines, whose son struggled with mental illness as a young man, has been a vocal advocate for more local programs to help teens through some of their most difficult years.<\/p>\n

And with more programs, she said, the more young people will be willing to step forward and accept help. \u201cThe stigma attached to \u2018I\u2019m going to a psychologist and a program\u2019 is something we need to get rid of. It\u2019s kind of like breast cancer. Decades ago those are two words you would never use together. But now you\u2019re finally hearing the word recovery used for mental illness. We\u2019re making progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

‘I Didn’t Think I Was Good Enough’ Emily May, a 17-year-old from Round Hill, credits Grafton\u2019s therapy program for helping her overcome her depression and anxiety. Many in Loudoun County\u2019s mental health community say more help is needed for teens like Emily. Just six months ago Emily May was a different person, she would tell […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-news-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTeen Support Programs Expanding To Address Growing Needs - Grafton<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/teen-support-programs-expanding-to-address-growing-needs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Teen Support Programs Expanding To Address Growing Needs - Grafton\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"‘I Didn’t Think I Was Good Enough’ Emily May, a 17-year-old from Round Hill, credits Grafton\u2019s therapy program for helping her overcome her depression and anxiety. 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