Residential treatment can be transformational in helping children and youth develop the skills needed to more effectively manage emotions, direct their own self-care and build healthy relationships with family, peers and others. At KVC Missouri, our Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTF) provide a safe and therapeutic environment for children and youth to come when in crisis, living out the skills acquired in therapy in real time with the support of a passionate and dedicated care team. 

With individualized, compassionate therapeutic care, residential treatment provides support when youth are dealing with trauma, unsafe behavior or mental health challenges. Explore what makes KVC Missouri’s residential treatment a place of hope and healing.

Residential Treatment at KVC Missouri

Maggie Bell, Director of Operations, Springfield PRTF

When a youth enrolls in residential treatment, they receive 24/7 treatment and support for the duration of their stay. “What residential treatment provides is a therapeutic setting for kids to be able to come in and not only get the treatment they need but also get that uniqueness of being in a milieu,” explains Maggie Bell, Director of Operations at Springfield PRTF. In contrast to outpatient therapy, residential treatment has therapeutic components embedded in every aspect of daily life.

Who We Serve

KVC Missouri serves a wide variety of young people with complex mental health needs and behavioral challenges. 

Admission to psychiatric residential treatment can sometimes be confusing and difficult for the children in the beginning, as they may feel they have done something wrong. In reality, their parents have made a very hard but important choice to get their child the help they need! The decision to enroll a child in residential treatment may be challenging at first. But it’s a life-changing step towards hope.

A common misconception about residential treatment is that it’s only for children and youth in the foster care system. But at KVC Missouri, any child in need of this care is eligible for admission!

Many youth arrive at residential treatment with significant trauma in their past, especially youth in foster care. Residential treatment is rarely the first treatment a youth has received. As a result of their past, youth can have difficulty trusting adults. Regardless of their background, our goal is to never give up hope on any child who comes through our doors!

“We have quite a few youth on our campus for whom this is a last resort,” shares Bell. “What’s really great is when we take those hard-to-place kids and are able to help them find success. Many of them do call or come back and let us know how well they’re doing.”

Success Stories in KVC Missouri’s Residential Treatment Program

“This place has changed our lives,” says Lynzie K., a caregiver of a youth in residential treatment. “We had been in and out of short-term admissions at the hospital for six months. We finally broke down and decided to try the residential option. When I say we were devastated and scared, I truly mean that. But this place has poured into our daughter, and after 2.5 months she is home!”

Hear more stories of the powerful change that has happened in residential treatment.

Sarah’s Journey: From Residential Treatment to Transitional Living

“Sarah” had been in care for about two years in several foster care placements and settings when she was sent to Springfield PRTF. Almost seventeen years old at the time, Sarah was also a mother to a toddler. Since she had entered care, she only scarcely saw her son for two years.  Desperate to see her son, Sarah resorted to destructive behaviors. Including swallowing dangerous substances and foreign objects to get hospitalized. She was attempting to get out of treatment with the hope of seeing her son. 

But Sarah’s care team at KVC Missouri did not give up. Treatment began by meeting her most basic needs. When Sarah first arrived, she was wearing paper scrubs and didn’t even have any clothing. So, KVC Missouri started by providing clothes. After learning about her son, KVC Missouri therapists worked with Sarah to find ways to connect with him again. As Sarah progressed, the contact started with photos and virtual calls. Then eventually moving toward her son visiting her on campus. By Thanksgiving, Sarah was able to visit her son overnight and even take him out for some clothes shopping!

After discharge, Sarah is currently in a transitional living placement, where she has been able to return to in-classroom learning. She even has a job! But most importantly to Sarah, she is seeing her son regularly and has hopes of a permanent reunion soon.

Mark’s Journey: Transitioning Back into the Community

“Mark” came to Springfield PRTF when he was nine years old. He had been struggling at home for a long time with complex mental health diagnoses, many of which were so severe that other facilities turned him down for admission. 

Mark was transported to Springfield directly from a hospital in St. Louis, where he had been in the emergency room for 21 straight days. He arrived sedated and strapped to a gurney because transporting him had been so challenging with his aggressive behaviors.

Within the first five seconds of arrival, Mark had to be restrained, as he awoke from sedation. In a completely new environment, surrounded by unfamiliar faces, he was clearly frightened. His care team quickly learned that his transporters had not stopped to feed him lunch en route to Springfield, a drive of more than three hours. Again providing care first for basic needs, the Associate Director made Mark a sandwich. His aggression subsided as he ate and got to know the KVC staff. “It’s crazy how a peanut butter and jelly sandwich can build a relationship!” recalls Bell, who said Mark and the director became instant friends.

Given Mark’s many diagnoses and behaviors, his care team performed a neurosequential brain metric using the model created by Dr. Bruce Perry.

“As people, the good things we go through and the bad things we go through affect how our brains develop,” explains Bell. “If we don’t get the right needs met at the right times, it can cause parts of our brain not to function properly.”

Mark’s team did a complete mapping and scoring of the 32 parts of the brain based on scans, medical history and symptoms to create a treatment plan.

Mark’s treatment plan primarily focused on hands-on, creative therapy rather than talk therapy. This helped get him up and moving and focused. Seven months later, Mark successfully discharged into a treatment-level foster home near his biological mother, who was very engaged and involved in his treatment and has continued to be a loving presence in his life as they work toward reunification. 

How Therapists Support Youth in Residential Treatment

Therapists in psychiatric residential treatment bridge the gap between the youth and their direct care team to help communication flow and apply therapy throughout the day. Therapists meet with the rest of the care team every week to talk through where each child is at treatment-wise and address difficult situations. 

“If direct care staff are really struggling with a youth, the therapists can give some background information on the youth but also provide more guidance and education on what they’re working on in therapy,” says Bell. Each cottage at Springfield PRTF is assigned a therapist who works every day with the youth and the care staff. They will even help out in crisis situations whether or not the situation involves one of their patients. 

How to Make a Referral for Residential Treatment

“Our goal is always to help children to heal, receive the treatment they need and move on as soon as they’re ready,” Bell says. “It’s not about ‘fixing’ a kid, but it’s about looking at how we work together to make a better environment.”

If you believe your youth may benefit from residential treatment, know that while a difficult decision, this can be the best decision and even save your child’s life! Make a referral today to help your youth get on the path to healing and recovery.

Become a Residential Treatment Therapist!

If you are a mental health professional who is flexible, humble, eager to learn and open to new perspectives, you might be just what our psychiatric treatment facilities need! You have the ability to bring incredible change to the lives of youth and their families. You can help them look at themselves and their future in a whole new light. Become a therapist at KVC Missouri and help us create a brighter future together!