Adolescent Treatment in New Hampshire
Types of Treatment
Psychotherapy
- ACT
- DBT
- CBT
- Individual Therapy
- Peer Support
Medications
- Collaborative Approach
- Tailored Dosages
- Side-Effect Management
- Informed Consent
- Safety
Lifestyle
- Balance
- Nutrition
- Support
- Art Therapy
- Mindfulness
Clinical Program
- Personalized Therapy: Implementing individualized therapy sessions that respect the unique experiences and recovery pace of each adolescent, using trauma-informed care principles.
- Medication Management: Careful management of medications with a focus on safety, minimal side effects, and age-appropriate dosing, ensuring informed consent and involvement of guardians.
- Life Skills Development: Enhancing resilience and coping skills through practical life skills training, mindfulness practices, and nutritional guidance, tailored to adolescent needs.
- Supportive Environment: Creating a supportive and safe therapeutic environment that fosters trust, confidentiality, and empowerment, encouraging open communication and validation.
- Family Engagement: Actively involving families in the treatment process, providing education on trauma-informed care, and supporting family healing and communication strategies.
Medical Care
- Comprehensive Assessments: Conducting thorough medical and psychological assessments tailored to young adolescents, ensuring a trauma-informed perspective that identifies both overt and underlying health concerns.
- Integrated Treatment Plans: Developing integrated treatment plans that address both physical and mental health needs, utilizing a trauma-informed approach to foster holistic healing and recovery.
- Adolescent-Specific Medications: Implementing careful medication management strategies focused on adolescent-specific concerns, including considerations for development, potential side effects, and long-term impact.
- Trauma-Informed Medical Staff: Ensuring all medical staff are trained in trauma-informed care principles, providing sensitive and appropriate care that acknowledges and respects the trauma histories of adolescent patients.
- Family-Centered Care: Emphasizing the importance of family involvement in the medical care process, offering support and education to families to enhance the healing environment for the adolescent.
Academic and Social Pressure
- Stress Management: Outpatient therapy provides essential skills in managing stress and anxiety caused by academic pressures, promoting healthier coping mechanisms.
- Social Skills Development: Enhances social competencies, helping adolescents navigate peer relationships and social challenges more effectively.
- Self-Esteem Support: Addresses issues of self-esteem and self-worth that can be impacted by academic and social pressures, fostering a stronger sense of self.
- Balanced Perspective: Helps adolescents gain a balanced perspective on success and failure, reducing the overwhelming pressure to perform perfectly in both school and social settings.
- Resilience Building: Strengthens resilience, equipping adolescents with the ability to recover from setbacks and face future challenges with confidence.
Justice Involved Teens
- Behavioral Modification: Outpatient therapy offers targeted interventions to address and modify behaviors that led to justice involvement, promoting positive life choices.
- Legal System Navigation: Provides guidance and support for adolescents and their families in navigating the complexities of the justice system, offering a sense of clarity and empowerment.
- Reintegration Support: Facilitates smoother reintegration into the community and school, addressing potential stigmas and barriers to successful reentry.
- Anger Management: Includes specialized programs for managing anger and resolving conflicts constructively, crucial skills for preventing future justice involvement.
- Trauma-Informed Care: Recognizes and addresses the underlying trauma that often contributes to behaviors leading to justice involvement, offering healing and coping strategies.
Mental Health Management for Teens
- Symptom Management: Teaches effective strategies for managing symptoms of mental health conditions, fostering greater control over daily experiences.
- Emotional Regulation: Helps in developing skills for better emotional regulation, crucial for teenagers facing the challenges of mental health issues.
- Identity Development: Supports teenagers in understanding and integrating their mental health diagnosis as part of their identity without stigma.
- Coping Skills: Introduces and reinforces coping mechanisms for dealing with stress, anxiety, and depression, promoting resilience in facing life’s challenges.
- Social Support: Provides a platform for building social skills and creating supportive networks, reducing feelings of isolation associated with mental health diagnoses.
Alcohol and Addiction in Adolescence
- Recovery Foundation: Builds a solid foundation for long-term recovery, teaching teenagers strategies to resist alcohol and substance use while addressing underlying issues.
- Relapse Prevention: Equips teenagers with the skills and knowledge necessary for identifying triggers and effectively managing cravings, reducing the risk of relapse.
- Peer Support: Connects teenagers with peers facing similar challenges, fostering a sense of community and mutual support essential for recovery.
- Family Involvement: Involves families in the recovery process, enhancing understanding, communication, and support within the family system.
- Holistic Healing: Addresses not just the addiction but the whole person, integrating mental, emotional, and physical health practices to support overall well-being and sobriety.
Our Medical Director
Dr. Ryan Wakim, MD
Ryan J. Wakim, M.D. completed his undergraduate education at Wheeling Jesuit University before moving to Morgantown to attend West Virginia University where he completed his primary medical education and residency as chief resident of psychiatry.
He is board certified in psychiatry with personal interests in addiction, mood disorders, and trauma-related disorders.