Author Topic: NATSAP staying strong in todays economy.  (Read 6464 times)

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Offline Whooter

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NATSAP staying strong in todays economy.
« on: December 22, 2010, 02:59:00 PM »
All members of NATSAP are now required to be licensed and/or accredited.  This sets up standards which parents can rely on.  It is good to see they are staying strong in this difficult economy.


The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP) was created in January of 1999 to serve as a national resource for programs and professionals assisting young people beleaguered by emotional and behavioral difficulties. The Association is governed by an elected, volunteer Board of Directors comprised of representatives from the NATSAP membership.

Membership In NATSAP
Membership in NATSAP is voluntary and is renewed annually. Our members include therapeutic schools, residential treatment programs, wilderness programs, outdoor therapeutic programs, young adult programs and home-based residential programs.

NATSAP requires the members of our organization to be licensed by the appropriate state agency authorized to set and oversee standards of therapeutic and/or behavioral healthcare for youth and adolescents or accredited by a nationally recognized behavioral health accreditation agency and to have therapeutic services with oversight by a qualified clinician.

NATSAP's Role In Placement
NATSAP members are independently operated and owned; therefore, NATSAP does not provide placement services.

Each young person has his or her own specific needs that must be determined in detail before placement in any program is appropriate. Since NATSAP has no means of determining the needs of young people whose counselors or families may be using the NATSAP directory and information on members, NATSAP does not recommend specific programs.

Information About Our Members
NATSAP publishes a directory annually to inform professionals, programs, and families about the many residential placement alternatives available to help struggling young people.

Listed alphabetically, the schools and programs in the Program Directory are diverse. The directory's listings offer a wide range of programmatic types, lengths of stay, and services to meet the needs of a variety of troubled young people.

Matching the services of a particular school or program to the specific needs of a young person is arguably the most important decision that will ever be made on behalf of that young person. The NATSAP directory is not intended by itself to supply enough information to make a placement. NATSAP encourages programs, professionals, and families to have appropriate academic and psychological testing conducted and to use multiple informational resources before suggesting or pursuing a placement for any young person in any program.

Professionals and parents seeking information on placement for a young person experiencing difficulties have access to the NATSAP Directory on this website. Searching the directory will return each relevant program's basic information, including contact sources.




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Offline Whooter

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Re: NATSAP staying strong in todays economy.
« Reply #1 on: December 22, 2010, 03:00:42 PM »
Dealing With Issues of Program Effectiveness, Cost Benefit Analysis, and Treatment Fidelity:  
The Development of the NATSAP
Research and Evaluation Network

Michael Gass, Ph. D., LMFT & Michael Young, M. Ed.


   Say you walked into the office of your trusted medical professional with your sick child.  After going through a proper assessment, your doctor advised you of several drug treatment programs that would help your child recover. You were provided three options on the series of drugs your child could take to become well again.  Here are choices you were given to consider to select the treatment program for your child:
   1. You could choose to select from a group of drugs (Group “A”) that had been repeatedly tested against other drugs (Group “B”) several times in “blind trials” (i.e., experiments where other children like yours with the same illness were randomly given either Group A and B).  Three drugs in Group A repeatedly demonstrated a significant level of beneficial effects in addressing the issues facing you child far beyond what Group B drugs ever did.  
   2. The costs of the drugs that worked in Group A varied.  While both achieved similar results, two drugs (Drugs A1 & A2) cost an amount that you could financially cover.  The other drug (Drug A3) was 20 times more expensive than the first two, meaning that if you wanted to have your child become healthy with Drug A3, you needed to take out a second mortgage on your home to have your child become healthy again.
   3. With Drugs A1 and A2 that were available to you, one drug (A2) only worked when administered by your specific doctor in a particular manner when conditions were appropriate (e.g., it only worked if your child was not under any other medication, worked much better with girls than boys).  And when administered by another physician who was covering for your physician when she was on vacation, it only worked half as well.  Contrary to these “interactive” effects, Drug A1 worked to the same level of effectiveness no matter what other medications your child was taking, their personal characteristics, or who administered the treatment.

Which drug treatment program would you choose for your child?




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Offline Whooter

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Re: NATSAP staying strong in todays economy.
« Reply #2 on: December 22, 2010, 03:04:01 PM »
Residential Treatment and the Missing Axis

John L. Santa, Ph.D.
Montana Academy


Abstract

This article is based on a keynote address at the NATSAP Annual Conference in February of 2007.  It centers around describing the evolution of modern private residential programs, beginning with early alternative programs of the 60’s and 70’s that eschewed mainstream medicine and psychiatry and focused on character development. These programs were enriched in the 1980s by the positive influence of wilderness programs, and further enhanced by changes in mainstream psychiatry brought about by managed care and pharmaceutical companies who limited length of care and created a focus on symptom diagnosis and treatment.  All these factors combined to create a rapid exponential growth of private residential programs in the last decade.  This growth has also resulted in an interesting merger of professionalism with the ideas and environments of the earlier alternative programs. The importance of understanding adolescent problems at a deeper level beyond the symptom clusters of Axis I is needed, one that offers an alternative for a description of adolescent struggles.




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Offline Dysfunction Junction

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Re: NATSAP staying strong in todays economy.
« Reply #3 on: December 22, 2010, 03:07:20 PM »
NATSAP was started by Len Buccellato who has run two abusive programs, HLA and RCS.  RCS is currently getting a lot of bad press for riots, rapes, beatings, assaults and robberies right at the facility, many of which go unreported to police or oversight agencies.

Many programs are dropping out of NATSAP now because of this association with abusive programs like HLA/RCS but also because there were five NATSAP programs found to be abusing children and a child needlessly died in each of these programs.  Three are still in operation and currently enjoy NATSAP approval.

As news like this spreads, NATSAPS's membership and donations shrink, so I would need to see some financial statistics to show that the OP assertion is indeed true.  I have serious doubts.
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"Compassion is the basis of morality."

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Offline Whooter

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Re: NATSAP staying strong in todays economy.
« Reply #4 on: December 22, 2010, 03:11:19 PM »
The hot topic these days is The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs.  If anyone wants more information on this topic you can get it here:

NATSAP Information



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Offline Dysfunction Junction

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Re: NATSAP staying strong in todays economy.
« Reply #5 on: December 22, 2010, 03:14:55 PM »
There's no financial informaion on that link.  Where did you come up with the idea that NATSAP is staying strong when they are losing members and their programs are getting closed for abuse?  Any proof?  Any?
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
"Compassion is the basis of morality."

-Arthur Schopenhauer

Offline Whooter

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Re: NATSAP staying strong in todays economy.
« Reply #6 on: December 22, 2010, 03:17:26 PM »
Quote from: "Dysfunction Junction"
There's no financial informaion on that link.  Where did you come up with the idea that NATSAP is staying strong when they are losing members and their programs are getting closed for abuse?  Any proof?  Any?

Many groups have been closing and programs are down sizing and some even closing.  But NATSAP continues to weather the storm and provide a valuable service to parents and professionals alike.



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Offline Dysfunction Junction

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Re: NATSAP staying strong in todays economy.
« Reply #7 on: December 22, 2010, 03:21:36 PM »
They're shrinking.  Their preferred programs are getting shuttered for abusing and killing kids and now NATSAP can't recover from their bad judgment in approving dangerous programs so they're shrinking.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
"Compassion is the basis of morality."

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Offline Whooter

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Re: NATSAP staying strong in todays economy.
« Reply #8 on: December 22, 2010, 03:27:44 PM »
Quote from: "Dysfunction Junction"
They're shrinking.  Their preferred programs are getting shuttered for abusing and killing kids and now NATSAP can't recover from their bad judgment in approving dangerous programs so they're shrinking.

I dont agree with you! lol

The hot topic these days is The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs.  If anyone wants more information on this topic and the facts you can get it here:

NATSAP Information



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Offline Dysfunction Junction

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Re: NATSAP staying strong in todays economy.
« Reply #9 on: December 22, 2010, 03:37:53 PM »
Quote from: "Oscar"
Our researchers have noticed that a number of former NATSAP members have dropped out of the organization. They are mentioned in various documents but they don't figure when you search the database. Not that it is a problem for our research, but it is an interesting trend.

Are anyone aware of if there is some kind of split going on inside this organization?

It looks like they may be breaking apart or going under.
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"Compassion is the basis of morality."

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Offline Whooter

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Re: NATSAP staying strong in todays economy.
« Reply #10 on: December 22, 2010, 03:41:37 PM »
Interesting article.

Arizona RN practices nursing on the trail with at-risk youth

Debbie Merrell, RN, loved her work as an intensive care and critical care nurse, but after more than 20 years on the job, she was burned out and ready to leave the profession altogether. An employment counselor at her church steered her towards a different kind of nursing — at an Arizona wilderness behavior therapy program for at-risk youth and young adults. The nurses' duties included hiking through the rugged Tonto National Forest with a heavy pack, sometimes at night, sleeping on the ground without a pad and the occasional wild animal confrontation.

No way, Merrell said. "I'd never hiked a day in my life, never camped. Camping for me was going to a hotel, sitting in the Jacuzzi," says Merrell, 52.

Merrell did agree to help out the ANASAZI Foundation as a consultant. She went to the organization's offices in Mesa, Ariz., to learn about the program, and she endued up taking the job. "I got hooked," she says. "I never thought I could work with teenagers. I fell in love with the kids."

The foundation borrows from Native American traditions focusing on the healing aspects of nature to treat youth and young adults ages 13 to 25 with substance abuse issues, psychiatric disorders and learning disabilities. At ANASAZI, it's all about the wilderness and walking — 42 days of it, minimum. In small groups with guides, participants hike up to 10 miles a day, carrying minimal, low-tech gear, learning to cook their own food and build shelters to protect themselves from the elements.

At a cost of $455 a day, the treatment program requires a significant financial and time commitment from parents, who attend a 12-hour educational seminar and usually spend two nights on the trail with their child.

ANASAZI has no particular religious affiliation, but the program emphasizes spirituality, and has its own mystical-sounding lexicon: Participants are called "youngwalkers," counselors are "shadows" and group leaders are "trailwalkers." Everyone receives a new trail name, such as Merrell's: "Beautiful Morning Lioness."

Unfamiliar terms and names, says Merrell, are free from stigma. "What we don't want is labels or judgment. It's a new beginning. Youngwalkers are learning to walk again, stand on their own two feet."

Before youngwalkers head into the wilderness, their first stop is to see Merrell, who does an intensive physical and emotional assessment. "Not just blood pressure," she says, "but really in-depth questions about drug use, sexual history, if they cut themselves, ever attempted suicide, sexual abuse."

Merrell, along with staff psychologists, closely monitor the youngwalkers through radio communication with group leaders. Once a week Merrell and a counselor drive four to six hours over rough dirt roads, strap on their packs and start hiking to catch up with the 20 to 40 participants out on the trail. Merrell checks in about nutrition and hygiene, and treats minor cuts and sprains. She's on call for emergencies, and has gone into the field to treat a range of more serious issues — dehydration, wounds requiring stitches and hypothermia. Occasionally a situation requires evacuation. Recently, one of the youngwalkers tripped and fell, impaling his hand on a knife blade. Merrell was there to stabilize his hand and get him to the nearest hospital.

While the program is physically and emotionally rigorous, ANASAZI stresses that it is no "boot camp." No one is forced to stay — if a youngwalker runs away, says Merrell, trailwalkers will simply follow behind to ensure safety and offer companionship. There are no special privileges afforded to staff, who walk the trail with the same gear and food. That means no sleeping pad, no chairs and no shirts with logos or slogans.

Merrell not only had to learn wilderness survival skills for her job, she had to re-focus her nursing skills. "Wilderness nursing is different than having everything accessible in the hospital or ER," she says.

While Merrell is now a certified wilderness EMT, she still relies heavily on one old-fashioned nursing skill: TLC. "Sometimes the youngwalkers just need a shoulder to cry on, or a hug," says Merrell, who has two teenage children. "They are missing their parents, even if they won't admit it."

Robert Hampton, a 21-year-old audio engineer from Los Angeles who was a youngwalker last year, agrees. "Nurse Debbie was very easy to talk to, very comforting," he says. "It was like having a mother on the trail. She brought hot sauce and tea packages. The food packs are pretty bland. When you're out there, hot sauce and tea makes a difference."

In five years on the job, Merrell's biggest challenge has been the time commitment. As the only staff nurse, she was on call 24-7 and had to be within phone range even on vacation. Recently ANASAZI hired another nurse, and now Merrell shares call, two weeks on, two weeks off.

"It's so rewarding being around so many wonderful kids. I can't see myself doing anything else," she says "I get dirty, smelly, smoky, I get wet. You see all kinds of animals. Mountain lions, bobcats. I had a three-pound lizard jump on my back and crawl onto my head. It's always an adventure."



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Offline Dysfunction Junction

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Re: NATSAP staying strong in todays economy.
« Reply #11 on: December 22, 2010, 03:56:24 PM »
This place is under NATSAP's umbrella and is run b Aspen Education Group.  I would avoid it.

Quote
Deep in a ravine slicing into the parched uplands of central Arizona, an alligator lizard scurries across a boulder in the withering sun. With a lightning-quick lunge, a big, gawky 16-year-old plucks the reptile from the rock and clutches it in his thick fingers. "This is the tenth lizard I've caught," says Craig, beaming, his cherubic face smudged with soot. Then he slices off its head, pops it into his mouth, and gulps it down.

Craig is enrolled in a nine-week treatment program for troubled adolescents run by the Anasazi Foundation, a nonprofit corporation based in Mesa, Arizona. He's currently camped beside a rock-choked creek with three other wayward teenagers and their three college-age counselors. Some 40 other Anasazi students and their keepers are sprinkled among the adjacent canyons.

The daily ration of 2,000 calories is extremely lean, and if a kid consumes it early in the week, he or she has to subsist on wild plants, lizards, and bugs.

Does the nurse inspect the raw, live lizards the kids are eating?
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Offline Anne Bonney

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Re: NATSAP staying strong in todays economy.
« Reply #12 on: December 22, 2010, 04:00:28 PM »
NATSAP staying strong in todays economy.



Yes, because that's the salient point to this discussion.  The economy and NATSAP's revenue.   ::)
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Offline Whooter

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Re: NATSAP staying strong in todays economy.
« Reply #13 on: December 27, 2010, 08:34:57 AM »
Quote from: "Dysfunction Junction"

Does the nurse inspect the raw, live lizards the kids are eating?

 Not sure if she has a USDA license..  Ha,Ha,Ha.  but in all seriousness it doesnt appear from reading the article she is thrilled with the wildlife.  I am sure she will gravitate indoors after she gets some experience.



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Offline RobertBruce

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Re: NATSAP staying strong in todays economy.
« Reply #14 on: December 27, 2010, 09:16:00 AM »
Welcome to the deck of the Titanic ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy our violinist Whooter while you climb into your life boats.

Whooter any word on a link to these financial claims you're making?
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