Founded on the premise that our commitment to our young patients and their families extends beyond the confines of the hospital, the Therapeutic BRIDGE is a program unique to Belmont. It is designed specifically for our child and adolescent inpatients, to provide transition services prior to, and following discharge from the hospital, for at-risk child and adolescent patients and their families. The goal of our program is to assist our patients and their families by linking them to supportive services in their communities, and assisting their follow-through with aftercare plans made by the inpatient treatment team. The range of services are based on our patients’ and families’ needs, with the full array of Bridge services The full array of Bridge services includes:

• School and home visits
• Attending outpatient intake appointments
• Arranging and attending school readmission meetings
• Advocating for client services in the community
• Facilitating collaborative meetings with various community social service and mental health providers
• Locating supportive resources within the families’ communities and neighborhoods for caregivers and for the children an teens
• Availability for problem solving requests from families, and facilitating solutions either with the family or collaboratively with other involved help-givers working with the family
• Telephone check-ins with the young patients and/or with caregivers

The Therapeutic Bridge team provides training and education about managing the youth’s integration back into the community, and reinforces positive, effective parenting techniques. The Bridge team helps families access resources within their communities – resources that may be considered outside the scope of traditional mental health services (e.g., community centers, religious institutions, and recreational organizations) which can provide additional support and strengths for these families. The Bridge has often been particularly useful when a youth or family does not have knowledge of resources, or is uncertain about how to most effectively access community resources that would provide treatment and support for them.

In the stressful days following discharge to home, with outpatient appointments, a return to school and its inherent pressures, as well as the uncertainties about being back in the environment from which many of their problems arose and were manifest, the Bridge becomes a stabilizing force for the young clients and their families. The approach of the staff is supportive, educational and ultimately empowering. As a result, we have been able to document a high rate of compliance with outpatient aftercare treatment.