Private Pay Short-Term Options

Hospitalization

Margie’s 26 years working at Boston Children’s Hospital, as a Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) in the Department of Psychiatry, has taught her the skills to both identify appropriate points of access and guide her clients through the acute care systems.

Hospitalization is used when a person of any age is of danger to oneself or others. At times when this is a concern, this is the best intervention. Hospitalization is accessed through a visit to the local emergency room and is funded by insurance. Length of stay is from days to weeks and is funded by insurance only until the symptoms that brought the person to the hospital are stabilized. There are times when extending a hospital stay with private funds may be possible, and there are a few hospitals that will accept private funding to offer a longer length of stay. As a clinician with decades of experience working in hospital settings, Margie is able to join with the hospital professionals to help to find the right resources following hospitalization. Following a hospitalization, a return to the previous school or setting with additional supports, or use of any of the types of schools/programs described could be a possibility.

Assessment and Stablization Programs

There are a variety of short term treatment options nationwide that work with adolescents and young adults who are in crisis, but stable enough to not be in a hospital. These vary and tend to be diagnosis or problem specific, such as for treatment of substance abuse, eating disorders, anxiety disorders, mood regulation problems or post traumatic stress disorder. Average length of stay is 90 days or longer, and these programs combine more specific diagnosis with short term treatment. They may differ in the degree of medical, mental health stablility and/or sobriety that is required prior to admission. This type of program can at times be covered or partially covered by insurance but is more often private pay.

Outdoor Programs

These programs, described more fully elsewhere in the website, also fall into the category of assessment and stablization programs, run 6-8 or more weeks, and combine diagnostic assessment with strength based treatment.

Acute Substance Abuse Services

Frequently, the initial point of contact for adolescents and young adults in crisis is a hospital Emergency Room. Here, the goal is to assess the adolescent or young adults’ full situation to determine what factors additional to the substance abuse are driving the crisis.

There are times when the entry into treatment involves a legal situation and a rehab facility is mandated as a first step.

At the end of the initial assessment, whether the situation is seen as only substance abuse or is a dual-diagnosis (substance abuse and mental health issues concurrently) is an important component in understanding the next steps for the young person. Margie’s clinical and philosophical background assists her in considering the developmental and mental health underpinnings of adolescent and young adult substance abuse problems.

Short term options, particularly those that are insurance based and run only for days or weeks, are not meant to provide full recovery. They can, however, provide the family and the child, adolescent or young adult with a better understanding of the problem and recommendations about how to continue growth and prevent relapse.