It can be difficult to determine which type of care is right for yourself or a loved one. When you know what to expect in residential mental health treatment, you’ll be better prepared to make the best choice.
At Robles Ranch, we offer individualized residential mental health treatment on a luxurious private estate. Our low staff-to-patient ratio ensures that each person who heals with us receives the comprehensive and compassionate care they deserve.
Learn more about residential mental health treatment in Paso Robles County or verify your insurance now.
Understanding Residential Treatment
The defining characteristic of residential mental health treatment is that patients live at the center where they are receiving care. This gives them the opportunity to step away from the stresses and pressures of everyday life. They have the space they need to focus their full attention on their health.
Every residential treatment center has its own admissions criteria, but they typically serve patients who:
- Have severe mental health needs that have disrupted their ability to function
- Need more intensive services than they can get in an outpatient program
- Can benefit from round-the-clock supervision and support
Some patients enter residential treatment after completing an inpatient stay, which is a short-term, crisis-intervention level that focuses on stabilization. Some step up from partial hospitalization or intensive outpatient programs, and some enter treatment directly at the residential level.
Typical Features
To be most effective, mental health treatment should reflect the unique history, needs, and goals of each patient. This means that there’s no specific list of what to expect in residential mental health treatment. Not everything is applicable to everyone who gets help at this level.
However, approaching this topic from a more general perspective, there are certain common features that you should expect from any reputable residential treatment center.
Typical characteristics of residential treatment include:
- Six or more hours of care most days
- Continued monitoring and support during non-treatment hours
- Treatment provided by multidisciplinary team of experts
- Personalized care based on your unique needs
- A variety of therapies and support services
- A blend of individual and group activities
- Nutritious breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks
- Comfortable private or semi-private rooms
- Opportunities to visit with loved ones in person or online
- Flexible lengths of stay
Disorders Treated
Mental health disorders that are commonly treated at the residential level include:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Bipolar disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Complex trauma (cPTSD)
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Borderline personality disorder (BPD)
- Eating disorders
Other mental health concerns that may qualify you for residential treatment:
What Should I Expect During My First Week in a Residential Mental Health Treatment Program?
No two treatment programs are the same. All reputable programs will customize their services to address each patient’s specific needs and goals. With so many variables, how can you know what to expect in residential mental health treatment?
Intake & Assessment
When you arrive at the treatment center, you should expect to be welcomed by member of the admissions or intake team. You may have to fill out a bit of paperwork. However, the primary goal of your intake experience is to help you become familiar with the center’s policies and procedures.
Though there can be a lot of information to process during your intake, you should never be afraid to ask questions or request clarification. Understanding how the center runs and what will be expected of you will help you make a successful transition into treatment.
After touring the center and being shown your room, one of your first activities will likely be an assessment. This may include a conversation with a member of your treatment team, a review of your history and needs, and a physical exam. The goal of the assessment is to ensure that your treatment team has the information they need to develop a customized plan.
Medication
Medication management services in residential treatment may include:
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
- Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)
- Atypical antidepressants
- Benzodiazepines and other anti-anxiety meds
- Antipsychotics
- Mood stabilizers
Therapy
Therapy in residential treatment is usually provided in three environments:
- Individual therapy: One-on-one sessions with a trained professional can be ideal opportunities to identify issues that may have contributed to your mental health struggles, develop more effective coping strategies, and discuss topics that you may not be ready to bring up during group or family sessions.
- Group therapy: Group sessions usually involve a small number of individuals who have had similar challenges or who are working toward similar goals. Benefits of group therapy include learning from the experiences of others, becoming an informed self-advocate, and discovering the power of shared support.
- Family therapy: This is special type of group therapy that involves participants who are related to you or have played a significant role in your life. General goals of family therapy are to address unresolved conflicts so that you can communicate more effectively and better support each other moving forward.
Therapeutic approaches that can be incorporated into individual, group, or family sessions at the residential level include:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): This approach is based on the perspective that emotional distress results in part from maladaptive thought processes and learned patterns of unhealthy behaviors.
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT): DBT can help you improve your skills in the areas of mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy: EMDR is a dynamic experience that is designed to eliminate the psychological distress that you experience when recalling specific traumatic memories.
- Holistic treatment: Services within this category are designed to promote healing in mind, body, and spirit. Examples include yoga, meditation, art therapy, therapeutic recreation, and nutritional guidance.
- Animal-assisted therapy (AAT): This is a type of holistic therapy that involves guided interactions with horses, dogs, goats, pigs, and other animals. Various forms of AAT have proved to be valuable completements to traditional psychotherapy.
What Happens After Residential Treatment?
Residential treatment can be a vital step toward a healthier and more satisfying future. But it’s just one step. Your ability to make continued progress will hinge on the steps you take after your time at the residential level has concluded.
Depending on your unique circumstances, your path after residential treatment may involve outpatient step-down care as well as a variety of personal support efforts.
Step-Down Treatment
Given the comprehensive nature of residential treatment, it can sometimes be difficult to adapt to suddenly being back at home, without the support you’ve benefitted from for the past weeks. Step-down care at the outpatient level can help you make a smoother transition back into your family, community, and workplace
Outpatient options after completing residential treatment:
- Partial hospitalization program (PHP): PHPs usually offer full days of treatment, five to seven days per week, without a residential component. This means that you only need to be at the center when treatment is in session. In the evenings and on non-treatment days you can spend time at home or in an alternative supported residence.
- Intensive outpatient program (IOP): IOPs typically provide about three hours of care per day, with participants attending sessions two to five days per week. This schedule can be ideal for those who need to work, attend school, or take care of other responsibilities while enrolled in treatment.
Personal Support
The work of managing your mental health doesn’t end when treatment ends. Depending on the nature of your struggles, it may be a lifelong effort. But the good news is that you don’t have to do it all by yourself.
Ongoing sources of support after transitioning out of treatment:
- Therapy & counseling: Regularly schedules sessions with a therapist, counselor, or other advisor can be a vital source of ongoing support as you work to maintain and build on the progress you made while you were in residential treatment.
- Peer support groups: In addition to helping you maintain your mental health, participating in a peer support group can also give you the opportunity to help others who are at a different stage of their recovery.
- Personal support network: This isn’t a formalized group with meetings, though there’s nothing that says you can’t get your personal network together from time to time. Instead, this refers to the close friends or trusted family members who you can count on to help you manage your mental health and offer vital support during difficult times.
Learn More About Residential Mental Health Treatment in Southern California
Robles Ranch is a trusted source of personalized residential treatment for adults with anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and other mental health concerns.
Our treatment center in Paso Robles, CA is a safe and highly supportive environment where clients work in active collaboration with a team of experienced and compassionate professionals. In addition to residential care, we also offer treatment at the partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient levels.
To learn more call 805-635-0668 or verify your insurance now.