It's Where I Am with Zandra Polard

Unknown Speaker 0:00
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Unknown Speaker 0:45
Good morning Las Vegas, this is Dr. G. And you're listening to 91.5 FM, K, u and v. And this is it's where I am. It's a pleasure for me to be guest hosting on it's where I am on behalf of Zondra pol lard. Zonda is taking much needed respite. And I hope I've been doing a good job bringing forth and spotlighting different mental health programs throughout the state of Nevada. And having the opportunity to hopefully decrease the stigma for accessing mental health services and feeling more confident and and open to extending your hand and asking for support or help when needed. I'm really excited about today's show because I have a colleague and a friend, who I will be introducing in a moment that is been working for her employer for a good number of years. And so we're very fortunate to have somebody that's so knowledgeable and so passionate about access to mental health services with us this morning. So I'd like without further ado to introduce my guests and friend, Stephanie Brown, who is a community liaison with Willow Springs center in Reno, Nevada. Good morning, Stephanie.

Unknown Speaker 2:20
Good morning, Dr. David,

Unknown Speaker 2:21
how you doing this morning, and welcome to the show. Oh, thank

Unknown Speaker 2:25
you. I'm doing well. Thank you for having me. Happy to be here.

Unknown Speaker 2:28
All right. Well, you know, it's so nice Stephanie to hear your voice. And, you know, I'm down south here in Las Vegas, and you're up north in in Reno. And I have referred several adolescents myself as a provider from a down south here within our system of care in Las Vegas, to your facility up north and Reno. And and so, you know, I'd really like to take this opportunity for our listeners on KU envy 91.5 FM to learn more about Willow Springs center. And in general, just to have a basic understanding, what are some of the mental health services that your facility provides?

Unknown Speaker 3:16
Oh, thank you for asking we we are a locked residential treatment center for adolescents aged 12 to 17 in Reno. And that length of stay is approximately three to six months, they live with us. And then we also have opened new lines of service in the previous year outpatient services for intensive outpatient programming and a PHP partial hospitalization program as well for the same age group 12 to 17. Okay,

Unknown Speaker 3:47
so I love hearing that, because what that means listeners is, is that Willow Springs Center offers a range of clinical services to support adolescents, as Stephanie identified between the ages of 12 to 17 years, and their families. And so when when the individual in the family, our end or conclude their participation in services in the residential component, then they can transition down to a lower level of care, which Stephanie just shared with us. And so this continuity of clinical services for the family, which I think is is really, really important, so that excites me, Stephanie to hear that, that Willow Springs Center has, you know, expanded and is offering all these services. So, you know, if you don't mind, Stephanie, I think it's important for parents to have basic information about the facility where they might refer or send their child to receive clinical services so that they feel reassured and can start building trust with a service provider, if they're in need of this level of care. So Willow Springs center. So what what's the larger corporation that that manages this, this provider?

Unknown Speaker 5:22
Well, we are standalone hospital and you know, so that we are solely operating and helping these kids, like you said, or step down. So it would be Willow Springs center. And then I would also like to add that the outpatient services were created not only for our staff down, which thank you for renting that because that's very important component to continuum of care, as you said, but also for the community to make referrals to outpatient because there's, as you know, a huge need for resources in Nevada in general. So in the north, we do have a hard time getting access to services for teens, which is why we opened that program. So it's not just for our stepdown, but for all of the other families in need in Northern Nevada, as well as the providers that assist those families to be able to help them and guide them in that process to our services.

Unknown Speaker 6:20
I love that Stephanie, and just you're creating more access to much needed services up in the north. That is much needed. And and though, I want to reinforce, though and highlight to our listeners that this this provider accepts adolescents from all over. So it's just not for adolescents that live up north. Yeah, so So if really, if any parent or guardian is identifying a need for residential treatment services for their adolescent, this is a facility that they can look into. And and reach out to and ask questions. So as a parent, myself, my boys now are in their 20s. But I can only imagine, one of the most difficult decisions for a parent is making the decision to send their child away to a residential treatment center, and absolute zoom. So Stephanie, can you share with our listeners and talk about maybe like the philosophy of care, that is, is that infuses Willow Springs Center,

Unknown Speaker 7:48
I'd be happy to and thank you for highlight the fact that we do get kids from all over the country. And the reason for that is because no, nobody really does what we do and in terms of treatment. And I can go into explaining that we know our our treatment modality is solely DBT, which is Dialectical Behavioral behavior therapy. And it is skill based. Versus cognitive behavioral therapy, which is talk based DBT has excellent outcomes. It teaches we teach kids the skills necessary to manage their mental illness lifelong. And we they practice those skills while they're with us. And then upon discharge, they are armed with the tools that they need to be successful in life. And, and we're very proud of that. So there really isn't a residential treatment center on the West Coast anyway, that has the ability to just provide DBT treatment. And the other thing that makes us different is that we are a locked, licensed behavioral hospital. A lot of the western states do not have locked residential treatment centers. So we do get a lot of kids on the West Coast based on that, because they may need that higher level of care based on the fact that they may be trying to run away from other RTCs. And then again, we are a licensed behavioral hospital, we use a medical model. We have licensed board certified child and adolescent psychiatrist, as well as a pharmacy on site and a pharmacist and a fully accredited school. So we have a lot of components to treatment that are pretty unique, and therefore we do get kids from out of state that we're able to help in addition to the local kids that come to get treatment with us.

Unknown Speaker 9:52
Stephanie, you just said a lot and I'm excited. And so I'm trying to restrain myself because I have so many thoughts and questions. Okay, so for the parents and guardians that are listening to the show this morning, Stephanie highlighted that Willow Springs Center is a residential locked facility. So, parents, I am a psychologist, I'm licensed as a marriage and family therapist. And I really like a lot. And I prefer locked residential treatment facilities because there is lesser of a probability for an adolescent or child to be able to run away. And so as a parent myself, and as a parent who adopted kids from foster care, that had their own unique challenges, if I was to ever put my child in an adolescent residential treatment center, I want to make sure that they're going to be safe, I want to make sure that there's lesser likelihood that my child can can run away. And and so that that's from a safety perspective, I think this is something that I would encourage guardians and parents to take into consideration and terms of it when you're interviewing residential treatment centers, to determine you know, what's best fit for your child and for your family. So Stephanie, has so graciously welcomed me into, you know, the CADRE or, or the the willow spring center family, because she helped me coordinate, having my clinicians within two hospital systems become trained in dialectical behavior therapy, which I really, really like. It's, it's a lot of research has been done proving efficacy of this model, and the outcomes really speak for itself. And for adolescents, I think this works really, really well, because we're teaching adolescents skills, Stephanie use the word skill building. And so we're teaching our kids to have the tools to learn how to emotionally regulate, and and it's a higher level of, of maybe what we're discussing in our dinner conversations with our kids at home. And, and so you want to you want to share anything else in terms of the model and just how like the program was created with our listeners?

Unknown Speaker 12:52
Sure, absolutely. You know, I just add to what you said, and that will springs outcome data demonstrates that we support our patients in significantly reducing feelings of depression, anxiety, stress, impulse behaviors, and help them really better understand and cope with our emotions. So what you saw was, is right on Dr. David was that Marsha Linehan originally devised CBT back in the 1980s. And we, our clinical consultant who created our DBT program, Dr. Allen for zety is still our clinical consultant, and he is at Harvard, McLean. But he has in fact, trained all our whole staff, multiple trainings on DBT. So that we are able to really interact with the kids if we need to, in the moment when they're having their emotion dysregulation. And that's been very, very helpful in treating these kids because, like I said, they do live with us, and they are learning how to manage their emotions. And that takes time. So

Unknown Speaker 14:09
I just want to give a shout out to Dr. Ferretti, because he's an exceptional DBT trainer. And he through Stephanie has provided phenomenal DBT trainings for multiple team members of mine. And so I'm just very thankful for that, Stephanie. I have a question though. So So I say I refer an adolescent up north to your facility. And the family though lives down here in Vegas. Can you talk about how family therapy is facilitated? Because we're also working with the parents, the guardians and helping them learn skills as well.

Unknown Speaker 14:52
Absolutely, and that is an extremely important component of DBT and the success of DBT. Is family involved. But we encourage that we have weekly family therapy sessions, in addition to our individual family sessions with our kids. And if you were to refer from the southern part of Vegas, which is very common, are the assigned therapists to that patient would facilitate a video call HIPAA compliant with the family to make sure that they are engaging the family and what what that child is learning and, and really how to support it when they go home. Because it's a very important part of the process is that family support throughout treatment, and even more importantly, upon discharge? Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 15:47
and I really want to stress that to the parents that are listening to the show is, is that, you know, say, if you are living on the East Coast, and you determine that Willow Springs center is the right facility for your child, that you're going to be involved. And it may look a little different than what it may be like for parents that live a little bit closer. But you're definitely going to be involved, you're going to be asked to participate in, in clinical services. And I would say to the, to the parents to the Guardians, be open minded, because you're going to be taught skills, new skills, maybe that you haven't thought about before, that's only going to make your life as a caregiver as a parent easier. And so there's going to be higher successful outcomes when the child really unifies and returns into your physical care. So absolutely. Okay, so I think it's we've talked a little bit about, like the philosophy of care, and the model, the treatment model, which I think is really, really important, because that's what I feel separates Willow Springs center, and makes your facility Stephanie, different from other residential treatment centers. Also, I want to highlight again, to our listeners, that it's a locked facility. So again, there's less a probability that your child is going to have a chance to run away. And so for me, as a parent myself, that reassures me because, you know, kids are so intelligent today. And and they're so resourceful, that it's just too easy for young people to to get themselves into situations that are potentially risky and unsafe. So Stephanie, when you think about because I know you're your parent, as well. So from that lens, from that perspective, what else might be important for our parents and guardians, listening today to know about Willow Springs center?

Unknown Speaker 17:59
I think there's a lot of important things to convey to parents. And yes, as a parent, I always think about it from my perspective is my child, you know, was in need of those services. I mean, I would start by saying the dialectic at the heart of DBT is acceptance and change. So we not only support that we promote that in all of the treatment that we provide. Some of the things that we provide, besides a mental health treatment and schooling is equine therapy. We have recreational therapy, which includes the ropes course, child challenge by choice, it's called. We are LGBTQIA friendly. We are a community partner, we work with all the agencies, especially in Nevada, to assure that these kids are getting to the places they need to be. And that continuum of care is seamless. So we work very hard in, you know, my myself and my team, to assure that, you know, everyone's talking to each other providers are informed and making informed choices for families who are in need, because the fact is that most families who haven't had to really enter this mental health world don't always know how to navigate it. So we're definitely here to help with that. You know, I'm in the community all the time. So I am have a library of resources that I work with daily to meet to make sure that goal is attained for the kids and our Nevada community.

Unknown Speaker 19:38
What very well said Stephanie, and and for listeners, so I actually met Stephanie for the first time when she was in her role, and she was down here in the southern part of Nevada. And she met with the hospital where I was employed as a clinical director. And and so that's how how we got into first introduced to each other, and she hasn't got rid of me people were still involved with each other. And henceforth, that's why I have her on on the show today is is because though the philosophy of care in regards to how Willow Springs Center provides treatment, you can't fake it. And, and, and so, you know, it, it's so important for parents guardians, caseworkers, Child Protective Services to feel comfortable, and to be 100% on board with the decision and and then the facility decision where child's going to be placed. And and so, you know, I know how invested the team members or that provide clinical services and I think listeners you can hear in Stephanie's voice, the level of commitment at you use the word acceptance and change. And you indicated that that's huge component, if you will, of the model up north. And I liked that a lot though, acceptance and change in that were helping facilitate the process for individuals, maybe to work through some things and accept some things and learn how to move forward and emotionally regulate in a safe and a positive way. And we're looking at this from a systems perspective. And so we're not just working with the child in a vacuum, we're also working with the family and the environment in which a child's going to transition back into. I can just go on and on about how amazing Willow Springs center is. But I think you know, Stephanie did a phenomenal job. I think highlighting some of the key components that parents should hold in mind and take into consideration as far as when they're making such a huge decision, and where their child might receive residential treatment services. So Stephanie, before we end, the show today, is that anything else that you'd like to add, just you know, as a takeaway for our listeners this morning,

Unknown Speaker 22:31
I just like to say that we're here to help. We know it's a very, very hard decision to make. And we understand what a difficult time parents can be going through. They can be going through crisis and difficult emotions that they're not equipped to handle themselves necessarily, but there's help available. And even if it's not us, I can always help to refer if there's a needed service, but it's a difficult place to be. And so we understand that, and I can certainly provide contact information if, if that's appropriate. Yeah, absolutely.

Unknown Speaker 23:12
And I want to highlight this. I know, I continue to talk listeners, but this is an important highlight. Stephanie, and her employer at Willow Springs center. If a decision is made, maybe that the team determines that's not necessarily the right residential treatment center for a specific child, they're not going to just say up, we're going to wash your hands of you, because you're not you know, having your child enrolled at our facility, they're going to help you and refer you somewhere else that the family the team is is just not left feeling isolated and alone on, you know, a deserted island. And so, you know, to me, that feels really good. As a provider, myself, who provides mental health services, to know that that's how your employer practices. So I want to just really highlight that to our listeners and to the parents listening. And Stephanie, please. If if we have parents and guardians and potentially referral partners that would like to learn more about Willow Springs center, how can they get in touch with you?

Unknown Speaker 24:28
Yeah, absolutely. I am happy to provide that I just want to add to what you said, which was great, thank you, that our admissions department is amazing, I think, and they understand levels of care. Our directors clinical, there's obviously different levels of care and maybe colors. Children may not be appropriate for this level of care of residential treatment. We do also have our outpatient services to which we can refer to but there are other levels of care that are out there that were had happy to recommend basically so what they'll want to do is call the main number and that number is 775-858-3303. And I can also provide the admissions fax number which is 775-858-4557 as well as our outpatient phone number, which is a different number, and that is 775-284-4720. And that fax number is for outpatient 775-284-4595 Awesome.

Unknown Speaker 25:40
Thank you so much. listeners. I want to thank Stephanie Brown community liaison for Willow Springs center for taking the time to present what they're all about up in northern Nevada. And this is Dr. g. from great minds counseling and Wellness Center. I'm the clinical director and public relations director and you are listening to it's where I am on 91.5 FM que und until next time. I look forward to talking to you then

Transcribed by https://otter.ai