Goodale School - Clinical Program for Adolescent Substance Abuse

clinical program.

The Goodale School and Recovery Community provides evidence-based dual diagnosis treatment, with individual and group therapy, family therapy and psychiatric support as needed.

INDIVIDUAL THERAPY

Every student at The Goodale School has a substance use disorder. But that is often only part of the story.

During individual, one-on-one therapy sessions, the student will have the opportunity to explore the many complex emotions and experiences which may factor into that substance use disorder.

Our clinicians are experienced at working with young people who experience co-occurring disorders including:

• anxiety
• depression
• attachment issues
• grief/loss
• trauma
• sexual orientation and gender identity (LGBTQIA+)
• school struggles
• struggles with identity development
• self-harm
• suicidal ideation
• adoption issues

Our person-centered, strengths-based clinical approach employs a combination of evidence-based strategies for working with teenagers and treating dual diagnoses, including Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Trauma-Focused Care and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, among others.

MILIEU THERAPY

As part of our real-life recovery model, milieu therapy allows therapists and mentors to spend time with students as they engage in everyday activities at The Goodale School. This creates a supportive, caring environment where therapeutic issues can be discussed in the moment, when the conversations are most relevant, rather than waiting until a later individual therapy session. At The Goodale School, milieu therapy includes weekday visits to the gym and outings like skiing, snowboarding and skateboarding where students are accompanied by therapists.

This type of therapy also creates a positive peer culture where students help each other learn to be accountable for behavior. Milieu therapy also helps students begin to help each other be accountable for behavior which might negatively affect the recovery community, incorporating communication skill-building and conflict resolution as part of the therapeutic process.

GROUP THERAPY

Students participate in two weekly group therapy sessions. One is a process group in which interactions among group members are mediated, interpreted and critiqued, allowing for interpersonal insight. The other is a psycho-educational group that focuses on developing skills and expanding knowledge in an area that supports a recovery lifestyle. Topics are determined by the needs of the group and may include:

• family systems
• recovery tools
• boundaries
• substance use and the teenage brain
• anxiety
• communication
• diversity
• relapse prevention
• 12-step studies
• 12-step principles
• anger management

FAMILY WORK

Because family participation is critical to recovery, especially for adolescents, The Goodale School and Recovery Community requires a commitment from parents to fully engage in the process as a condition of enrollment. We focus on family work during weekly parent calls with the student’s therapist, biweekly parent support calls, family therapy sessions as needed, parent workshops three times per year and through webinars and other educational resources.

It is recommended that parents attend local Al-Anon or Families Anonymous groups regularl. The Goodale School will make every effort to help parents find an appropriate mental health provider in their area if they need assistance.

Family programming includes:

• monthly family support group led by Executive Director
• quarterly weekend workshops
• weekly parent calls (family therapy) with the student’s therapist
• monthly webinars and other educational resources
• family visits every 4-6 weeks practicing new skills