Children

The Child Program is dedicated to providing evidenced based treatment to children ages three to 11-years-old, diagnosed with a variety of mental health problems affecting their behavior and safety. This unit provides treatment designed to help patients learn skills that will help them manage their behavior and emotions.

Our treatment model includes psychiatric services, individual, group, family and expressive therapies. A psychologist, therapist, or social worker will work with the individual and family to develop a treatment plan that meets individualized needs.

The direct care staff have been trained to run therapy and skill-based groups that promote social skills, safe choices/anger management, impulse control, coping skills, self-esteem, healthy expression of feelings, and positive family dynamics. Our goal is to provide effective inpatient treatment and facilitate appropriate aftercare planning that supports the individual and the family in a successful transition back to the community and home environments.

With that being said your child has been admitted for the purpose of inpatient stabilization. Although we endeavor to foster skills that will set a foundation for successful outpatient treatment, our primary objective is to help your child reduce in aggression, self-injury, suicidality, and/or homicidality so that they may safely return to your care.

Two clinical models help shape the programming on the child unit, Trauma Focused CBT and Collaborative Problem Solving. Trauma Focused CBT is a long term treatment model used for children who have been traumatized in any way. While many of the components of this model must be implemented in an outpatient setting, groups on the child unit teach the skills portion of the model, focusing on staying in control of strong emotions, building problem solving skills and relaxation techniques to use when upset.

Collaborative problem solving is used to help children who are behind their peers in skills necessary to be successful.
The model begins by discouraging labeling behavior as “oppositional” “combative” or “defiant”. Instead of viewing good behavior as something children won’t do, Collaborative Problem Solving identifies desired behaviors as something children can’t do. Due to various factors (developmental, environmental, etc.) children fail to acquire skills that we as adults expect them to have. Without these skills, children fail to be successful in their environment. To us adults this may look like “attention seeking” or “acting out”. Training in Collaborative Problem Solving helps staff identify the real problem with patients as “lagging skills” that cause behaviors that resulted in hospitalization.

Typically, there are 10 primary skill deficits that precipitate admission to our facility. Lacking in these skills can lead to anger, frustration, sadness, anxiety, and a variety of other emotions that children struggle to express appropriately. This often leads to aggression toward self and others. The identified “lagging skills” are as follows:

  • Expressing Self
  • Planning/Preparing
  • Focus
  • Empathy
  • Problem Solving
  • Transitions
  • Timing
  • Managing Emotions
  • Rigid Thinking
  • Social Skills

Collaborative Problem Solving identifies each child’s lagging skills and develops a plan to overcome their skill deficits through what is described by Dr. Greene as “Plan B”. The model specifies that problems arise not just because of lagging skills but in the way adults respond to lagging skills. Often adults respond in demanding harsh and punitive ways (Dr. Greene calls this approach “Plan A”). Plan A typically results in frustration, anger anxiety or aggression. Other times adults grow tired of power struggles and arguing and drop the problems all together. This approach (called plan C) teaches avoidance and enables the child to become dependent on others. This ultimately reinforces the initial behaviors and never resolves the problem. Collaborative Problem Solving encourages “Plan B”. Plan B focuses on identifying the laggings skills using three simple steps –

  1. Empathy – Adults respond in an empathic, supportive and understanding nature when problems arise.
  2. Define the problem in the context of Collaborative Problem Solving. The adult shares his/her concerns with the child and together they determine what the lagging skills in question are and how they are causing problems.
  3. Invitation to find a solution – Here staff and other adults invite the child to join with them in finding a solution to the problem.

Child Program Basics

Nurse Manager: Kati Maloney extension 5237
Clinical Manager: Dr. Joy Prempas extension 5377

Visitation:

Wednesdays 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Saturdays 9:30am – 10:30am

Phone times:

Evenings 6:30-8:00 pm
Child unit direct extensions: 3732, 3715 or 3716

Streamwood Behavioral Healthcare System OP Service offers three levels of care and a therapeutic day school to children ages 4 through 12 including Partial Hospitalization Programming (PHP), Intensive Outpatient Programming (IOP), traditional Outpatient Clinic, and a Therapeutic Day School, Innovations Academy. As the premier provider of behavioral healthcare services, Streamwood Behavioral Healthcare System is committed to quality, community collaboration with our patients’ families, schools, external providers, and other invested parties to develop and provide innovative therapeutic services to pave a pathway to recovery. We inspire hope and build resilience for our patients, their families, and the community to make every life worth living.

SBHS Partial Hospitalization Program for Children

Our Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) for children serves children who have been discharged from the hospital and children who do not need to be hospitalized, yet require intensive treatment. SBHS Partial Hospitalization Program for Children includes separate programs for tots and children and runs five days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. SBHS PHP allows children to keep up with school work during academic time with the assistance of our licensed teacher.

PHP therapeutic groups build communication skills, conflict resolution skills, anger management skills, emotional regulation skills, and general coping skills to assist participants in daily life at home, school, and in their communities. PHP programming for children includes group and expressive therapy, daily education and tutoring, and general health and nutrition education. Our PHP psychiatrist and/or Advanced Practice Nurse provide medication consultation and management to PHP participants. PHP participants also receive a light breakfast and lunch during the programming day.

SBHS Intensive Outpatient Program

The SBHS Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) allows children who do not need a full day program to attend school while continuing to receive intensive treatment Monday through Thursday from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. IOP is group based and is designed to strengthen and reinforce communication skills, conflict resolution skills, anger management skills, emotional regulation skills, and general coping skills learned in therapy, PHP, or during an inpatient hospital stay.

SBHS Outpatient Clinic

SBHS Outpatient clinic’s psychiatrists and advance practice nurses provide medication consultation and management to children. Our patients’ parents also participate in this process and receive education on their children’s medication(s) and behavioral or mental health struggles. Our Outpatient Clinic team of dedicated, experienced therapists offer individual, group, and family therapy services. SBHS therapists and counselors provide individual, group, and family therapy and counseling designed to provide structure and education to help youth and their families manage difficult behaviors. All forms of our therapy serve to encourage development or strengthening of alternative ways to respond to stressful situations and to communicate & interact more effectively with family members, peers, and other people in the child’s community.

SBHS Outpatient Service offers the following groups that typically last for 10 weeks:

  • Anger Management Group for Children ages 3 to 9 years
  • Anger Management Group for Pre-Teens ages 10 to 13 years
  • Controlling Anxiety Group for Children ages 3 to 9 years
  • Controlling Anxiety Group for Pre-Teens ages 10 to 13 years
  • Grief and Loss Group
  • Social Skills Group for Children ages 3 to 9 years
  • Social Skills Group for Pre-teens ages 10 to 13 years
  • ADHD Group for Children ages 6 to 11 years
  • Social Skills Group for Children with Autism
  • Parent Support Group
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder Parent Support Group

Innovations Academy Therapeutic Day School

Innovations Academy is approved by the Illinois State Board of Education and serves children with the following disabilities: emotional difficulties with moderate to severe mental illness; Intellectual Disability; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Multiple disabilities or Other Health Impairment (OHI); Traumatic Brain Injury; and Specific Leaning Disabilities. Innovations Academy offers two separate therapeutic programs including Elementary and Middle School Program for children in 3rd through 8th grade and a High School and Vocational Program that offer common core standards-based coursework, daily physical education classes, and therapeutic services to meet each student’s social-emotional needs.

Innovations Academy students also benefit from individual and group counseling, psychoeducational and recreational groups, art therapy including visual arts classes, music therapy including music education classes, speech-language therapy, and occupational therapy.

Students’ home school districts typically refer them to Innovations Academy. The dedicated and professional Innovations team works diligently to partner with referring school districts to develop realistic, achievable goals that will facilitate the student’s gradual return to home school districts armed with strategies and skills needed to facilitate successful adjustment.

We would love to meet students and families who are interested in enrolling at Innovations Academy. Please feel free to complete the attached form to request a tour of Innovations Academy. You may also call (630) 540-2774 or (630) 540-2772 to request a tour.