Why New Lifestyles?
Families working with consultants often receive more than one program recommendation. The National Alliance of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP) includes many other programs that serve emerging adults. Why then, especially if these other programs appear to charge less, should someone consider New Lifestyles?
What Is Included in the Fee?
The New Lifestyles tuition fee is comprehensive and includes the following services:
- individual psychotherapy up to twice per week;
- group psychotherapy five to ten times per week;
- individual and/or group music therapy;
- family psychotherapy once per week;
- quarterly multi-family workshops;
- psychological assessment;
- psycho-educational and social skills groups;
- vocational groups;
- social and recreational activities;
- 24/7 on-site staff availability;
- housing;
- utilities;
- food;
- local gym membership;
- local transportation; and
- local and long distance phone service and internet access.
The New Lifestyles tuition fee does not include the following:
- house supply fund;
- medical or psychiatric care and medications;
- college tuition, books and related fees including transportation to and from college;
- other third party services, e.g., nursing,, specialized tutoring, personal trainers, etc.; and,
- some recreational expenses.
Complete details are available in the New Lifestyles contract provided during the intake process.
We encourage all prospective parents to consider Lon Woodbury's Ten Common Mistakes Parents Make (In Making Residential Placements), which is available online here.
Points of Consideration
Level of Staff Expertise:
- Number of doctorate level clinicians on staff
New Lifestyles utilizes doctorate or pre-doctorate level clinicians due to the higher level of training and experience required to work with difficult to treat clients. Most other programs utilize master's level clinicians or non-graduate level coaches/mentors. At New Lifestyles, the ratio of the number of clinicians to the number of clients is recognized as one of the best in the industry.
- Level of training of bachelors level staff
New Lifestyles provides regular training for its bachelor's level program staff in the foundations of psychology and psychological adjustment, behavior management, cognitive behavioral techniques, and interpersonal relationship skills. In addition, the program staff are trained in the management of problematic student behaviors as well as in the recognition and therapeutic responsiveness to more clinically complex symptoms associated with Axis I and Axis II diagnoses.
Programmatic Structure:
- Staff availability
Clinical staff are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Program/residential staff are on-site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to monitor and respond as needed to student behaviors. The program structure is intensified between 7:30 am and 10 pm Monday through Friday and from noon to 10 pm Saturday and Sunday. During these hours, individual program staff are specifically assigned to supervise the students in each home.
- Multiple and consistent contact throughout the day
During the week, and concurrent with individual and group clinical sessions from 9 am until 5 pm, residential instruction is provided in the areas of home management, financial skills, and vocational skills, as well as other life skills as needed.
After 5 pm the program/residential staff continue to supervise various living tasks such as preparation of dinner and clean-up, as well as social/recreation activities 7 days per week.
Realistic/Unrealistic Parent Expectations:
- How long has this problem been in existence?
Longstanding problems that are resistant to change are unlikely to respond to simply a shift in environment or previous interventions based on a coaching/mentoring philosophy. For true and lasting change to occur in individuals with longstanding problems, a sophisticated model of clinical intervention and treatment is required.
- How motivated are you for change?
No shifts occur in the system unless all members are willing to make significant changes. Parents must recognize their need to make adjustments to effect systemic/family changes over time. Your son/daughter will change when the nature of the parent-adult child relationship changes. Weekly contact with the New Lifestyles clinical staff provides assistance to the entire family in this process of emotional growth.
- How motivated is your son or daughter? What is the level of clarity of his/her personal goals? What is the cognitive profile?
- Based on these answers,
- Are academic expectations realistic?
- Are the levels of desired intervention and treatment sufficient?
New Lifestyles provides not only expert clinical assessment of personality and emotional functioning, but also the evaluation of cognitive functioning and vocational interests. Understanding the entire clinical picture is necessary in the design of successful treatment.
- Are your hopes affecting the choice of placement?
Sometimes it is difficult to admit the extent of the problem. After all, most parents would like to believe that based upon their perception of their adult child's potential, a more modest level of intervention will be sufficient. Unfortunately, less sophisticated interventions can result in costly failure experiences for an individual whose self-esteem is already damaged. Admission to a clinically intensive program such as New Lifestyles requires a realistic perspective of the level of intervention required to effect lasting change.
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