Dave Smith Youth Treatment Centre
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                            What is our admission process and criteria?

                            The Dave Smith Youth Treatment Centre residential treatment program provides services to adolescents and young adults who have complex substance use disorders with moderate to moderately severe mental health disorders and who, typically, have been unsuccessful in overcoming their dependence of alcohol or other illicit drugs in the less intensive treatment environments.

                            Caregivers are expected to participate in the adolescent's treatment program.

                            The residential programs can be accessed by referral from any of the following:
                            1)  Addiction assessment and referral services,
                            2)  Community addiction and mental health agencies,
                            3)  Members of the Regulated Professions with a practice orientation in addiction treatment,
                            4)  Community partners (CAS, Youth Service Bureau, etc.) staff with expertise in providing services to
                                 adolescents and young adults with addiction problems,
                            5)  Institutional partners (ROH/CHEO, teaching and community hospitals, etc.),
                            6)  Parent,  doctor, social worker, caregiver or clergy of the adolescent/young adult,
                            7)  Adolescents or young adults with addiction problems.

                            Please Note: For safety reasons we are unable to accept adolescents aged 13 to 15 whose caregivers live at a driving distance greater than 2 hours from our sites; as well families and/or caregivers who reside within the 2 hours driving radius must agree to forthwith pick up their child in the event of a discharge.

                            Residential Treatment: Carp & Carleton Place campuses:

                            Our residential program consists of 3 major phases:
                            1)  A comprehensive addiction and mental health assessment,

                            2)  The Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) offering client centered treatment
                                 
                            in atherapeutic milieu, and
                            3)  The critically important aftercare program (ACC).

                            On-site academic services are offered by the M. E. McHugh Education Center and permit clients to obtain credits towards their high school certificate. Psychiatric consultations are available on an as-required basis with Dr Robert Milin and the other staff members of the Royal Ottawa Hospital's Child and Adolescent program.

                            Comprehensive Assessment.
                            Now identified as an essential element of any client centered treatment plan, staff rely on a variety of psychometric tools (including the GAIN family) to assess adolescents and young adults as to both their alcohol/drug and mental health problems. Reassessment occurs during the treatment phase and treatment plans are altered accordingly.

                            A-CRA.
                            The Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach is a manualized program where the therapist, relying on cognitive behavioural techniques, seeks to identify the reinforcers that could motivate adolescents to substitute positive pro-social activities for the reinforcing function of alcohol and other drugs. Staff are trained and certified in a series of directive but non-confrontational therapeutic procedures designed to facilitate discussion even when addressing an unacceptable behaviour. The CRA model is one of the few that has been repeatedly recognized over a substantial number of years as being significantly more effective than other clinical approaches. It has been reviewed and endorsed by the Canadian Center on Substance Abuse and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at US National Institute of Drug Abuse. The following quote is an extract from The Canadian Network of Substance Abuse and Allied Professionals, a CCSA initiative:

                            “In nearly every review of alcohol and drug treatment outcomes, CRA is listed among the approaches with the strongest scientific evidence of efficacy; however, it is not widely used or even known by many clinicians who treat individuals with addictions. Adding to this disconnect between research and practice is the fact that three of the four commonly-cited meta-analyses of alcohol treatment list CRA as one of the most cost-effective treatments available.”

                            The program incorporates 4 highly structured sessions for caregivers, with a goal of introducing harmony between the parents and adolescents. Out-of-town caregivers can soon be linked by videoconference services provided by the Ontario Telemedicine Network; co-facilitation is then required from an addiction treatment service/counsellor where the caregivers reside.

                            Contingency Management.
                            Contingency management interventions (consisting of positive and negative behavioural consequences) are used in our residential settings to promote change. The emphasis is on reinforcement interventions which award currency vouchers for desired conduct. Even though the reward is minim's al in value contingency management techniques are remarkably effective at enhancing and motivating adolescents to undertake behaviour change.

                            Assertive Continuing Care (ACC)
                            Relapse rates of 60% to 75% are not uncommon in the first 30 days following discharge from residential treatment. Rates as high as 30% have been observed in the first 72 hours following successful completion of residential treatment and are associated with the lack of support during normal delays of waiting for the first scheduled appointment after residential care. The Assertive Continuing Care program bridges that hiatus in the continuum. It provides intensive case management services to connect the young adult back to community based treatment. By assigning an ACC counsellor to our clients at admission we provide a critical link during those first few days when clients are waiting for their first referral appointment. The early link allows the ACC counsellor to be in a position to provide immediate support to a client in the event of an unplanned discharge.

                            Family Support Network - Bronson Campus
                            The Bronson campus is the service center for the Family Support Network (FSN), a parent focused program for caregivers of children who require/qualify for admission to the residential Level III-5 services. This evidence-based program consists of case management, educational groups and therapeutic home visits. The objectives of this program are to engage the family in addressing parenting skill or family dynamics deficits in the following areas: authority, roles, boundaries, communication, and routines.


                            Still have questions? 
                            For general information 
                            please contact Holly at 613-594-8333 ext 1101    holly.b@davesmithcentre.org 

                            For intake and admission inquiries
                            with Heather at 613-594-8333 ext 2206   heather.p@davesmithcentre.org

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