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The clinical program at Ironwood School is the bedrock of our success and the lifeline for our students. Ironwood is honored to employ a team of therapists with diverse backgrounds and training creating a unique breadth and depth of clinical expertise. When a student arrives at Ironwood, he or she is matched with a therapist who immediately begins a thorough research about the student, their family and seeks to uncover hidden facts and patterns of the student, their history, and their family. Great care is taken by each therapist as they seek to form a healthy and trusting relationship with the student and their family.
Each therapist creates and manages a unique and tailored treatment plan for each student that is comprised of comprehensive physical, mental, social/emotional, behavioral, and academic assessments. The treatment team, which includes therapists, teachers, direct care staff, and nurse, all participate in the creation of this multidisciplinary plan which is the guidepost for staff to ensure the objectives and goals are understood and met in relation to the student and their family. The therapist meets with the child twice a week for individual therapy and once a week for family therapy. Teens also participate in group therapy sessions throughout the week. Our therapists utilize various clinical modalities based on the needs of each student and incorporates such things as cognitive behavior therapy including dialectical behavior therapy skills, solution-focused therapy, addiction and substance abuse counseling, animal therapy and motivational interviewing techniques. Encompassing those modalities is the perspective of developmental psychology and assessing where each adolescent is on the maturity continuum. Members of the teen’s treatment team meet on a weekly basis to discuss and evaluate the student’s progress and ensure goals and objectives are being met.
At Ironwood School we remind ourselves that ‘it is all about relationships’ and the greater the relationship between student and therapist and student and staff, the deeper the desire for change within the student. Ironwood’s therapists are far more involved and are a more integral part of the program than elsewhere as evidenced by their offices being situated near the living areas where interaction is both frequent and comfortable. For instance, therapists spend time with students in their living areas, leading groups, talking with staff, and eating meals with the students. We have found that when it comes to relationships with students, proximity and frequency underscore a healthy, respectful and trusting atmosphere.
We believe that every youth that arrives at Ironwood deserves the utmost respect, with caring and quality treatment. We also believe that every family deserves consistent, honest and open communication. To ensure that each student has the maximum opportunity for success after graduation from Ironwood, we provide various parent education modules both during and after the student’s placement to ensure the parents and family have both identified and internalized new parenting and life skills before the student returns home. Online classes, webinars, blogs and teleconferences are all part of the therapeutic offerings we provide each parent and family. Lastly, Ironwood is proud to provide our students with the opportunity to return back to the program and participate as a ‘mentor’. Our Student Mentor program has a significant positive impact on the student both during and after enrollment. The Student Mentor program provides additional motivation for students to achieve goals while in the program as well as after graduation. Student mentors at Ironwood continue their own academic studies as well as continue to participate in various therapeutic activities and interact with students and parents under the supervision of Ironwood staff. Once approved and accepted, each student mentor is allowed to come back free of charge.
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