Emily's Story
Emily was 14 when she entered Edgewood Children's Center’s Residential Treatment Program. She was referred by her parents because of extremely dangerous self-mutilating behaviors and escalating oppositional behavior towards her mother and father. This behavior often reached a point of hostility that was dangerously out of control. Emily was beginning to fail in school and needed the structure and support of a residential treatment program with an on-campus school to offer her 24-hour therapeutic supervision.
Initially, Emily was resistant to treatment, but after acclimating to the program structure and staff, she began to invest in helping herself along the therapeutic process. During two individual therapy sessions each week, she discussed many of the issues underlying her emotional distress and developed personal interventions that helped her function through difficulties without collapsing internally. Emily also participated in three group therapy sessions each week, where she developed improved social skills and shared thoughts and feelings with her peers, many of whom struggled with similar issues.
An integral part of her treatment remained the family therapy process. Emily’s parents met with her therapist weekly to discuss the issues underlying her need for residential treatment, and they developed the tools and strategies necessary for her to return safely home. This was a slow, gradual process. Emily had many setbacks along the way, but her parents maintained a consistent working relationship with the therapist at Edgewood. Eventually Emily’s emotions stabilized and her behavior improved so that she was able to return home.
Emily remained in our Day Treatment program for one school year after her return home. This slow transition enabled her to fine-tune her newfound skills while retaining the therapeutic support she needed to make it through a tough transition. Afterwards, she was ready to return to her local public school, where Edgewood staff made sure she had ample resources available to help her remain in school successfully.
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