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Residential Treatment Center

Residential Treatment Center

Residential Treatment for Children and Teens

Laurel Oaks Behavioral Health Center proudly operates a residential treatment center (RTC) for children and teens, males ages 10 to 18 and females ages 12 to 18. Four separate living units, organized by age and gender, are housed within our RTC, each with their own living areas and dedicated staff including the clinical director/therapist, unit director, and mental health technicians.

While all youth served in this program have at least one primary psychiatric diagnosis, many have several psychiatric disorders as well as other challenges such as intellectual disability, physical or sexual abuse, neglect victimization and/or co-occurring medical conditions.

Many of these children or adolescents have histories of serious high-risk behaviors such as suicidal ideation, self-harm, assaultive behavior and running away.

We are proud to be able to serve many children and adolescents who have been denied admission by other facilities or did not achieve success with treatment in other settings.

Laurel Oaks Behavioral Health Center is TRICARE® certified.

Admission Criteria

An appropriate child or teen for this program may be:

  • Males ages 10 to 18 or females ages 12 to 18
  • Diagnosed with a primary psychiatric disorder and likely to respond to residential treatment
  • Exhibiting a combination of the following criteria to the extent that treatment in a less restrictive environment is unsafe or unlikely to be effective, but NOT to the extent that inpatient psychiatric hospitalization is medically necessary:
    • Impaired contact with reality as manifested by hallucinations, delusions, ideas of reference, etc.
    • Withdrawal, regression or confusion
    • Moderate to severe disabling depression, anxiety and/or somatic symptoms
    • Poor social and/or interpersonal skills
    • Poor compliance with prescribed medications or other outpatient mental health treatment
    • Inappropriate attention-seeking behaviors and/or inadequate problem solving skills
    • In need of 24-hour protective oversight and supervision (staff are on premises 24 hours per day on a day-to-day basis)
  • Physically capable of completing the program and demonstrates a willingness to participate in daily structured activities as addressed in the most recent treatment plan
  • Dually diagnosed as having mild or moderate intellectual disability, or substance abuse/dependence, as long as the primary diagnosis and treatment need is psychiatric
  • Not suited to be safely and effectively treated in a lower level of care

Services/Programs include

  • Treatment team meeting with a licensed psychiatrist
  • Individual therapy
  • Family psychotherapy, including education and support
  • Group therapy and psycho-education with a focus on social development, communication, basic living skills (money management, housekeeping, personal hygiene, nutrition, etc.) and drug/alcohol education
  • Special-issue groups focusing on anger management, grief and loss, discharge readiness, trauma and self-injury triggers
  • Substance use and nutrition education
  • Life skills, social skills and leisure education groups
  • Case management
  • Supervised therapeutic community outings
  • Daily goal setting and goal review groups
  • Medication administration and management (when appropriate)
  • Individualized educational services: Youth attend our 12-month, certified private school 6 hours each day and receive academic credit transferable upon discharge. Educational services include standard academic instruction, vocational readiness, physical education and recreation and art and music instruction.
  • Special educational services (when appropriate based on youth’s I.E.P.)

It’s Never Too Late, Call Laurel Oaks Behavioral Health Center

Laurel Oaks Behavioral Health Center in Dothan, Alabama schedules no-cost, confidential assessments 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If a child or teen you know may be in need of treatment at a psychiatric hospital and residential treatment center, please call us today at 334-794-7373.