Rogers Behavioral Health adds teen residential program for mood disorders

(Oconomowoc, WI) Teens struggling with severe depression and other mood disorders will have a new, intensive treatment option when Rogers Behavioral Health opens its eighth residential program. The FOCUS Adolescent Mood Disorders Program, opening March 1, 2016, on the Rogers Memorial Hospital campus in Oconomowoc, will have a 12-bed capacity.

The new service for adolescents ages 13 to 17 is an extension of FOCUS mood disorders programming in place since 2014 and adds to a strong foundation of adolescent care at Rogers.

Rogers initially opened the FOCUS residential center for young adults age 18 to 30. It recently expanded to include a track for those age 30 and older. Based on that experience, Rogers saw the need, and the potential, for extending the FOCUS treatment philosophy of intensive, highly structured programming to teens.

“There is an evident need for adolescent residential services, and Rogers Behavioral Health has a strong record with such care with our original Adolescent Center,” says Suzanne Harrison, vice president for operations for Rogers Memorial Hospital—Oconomowoc. “Here in Wisconsin and nationally, we saw a population of young people that weren’t able to find the appropriate treatment to lower their intense symptoms. We created the FOCUS adolescent program to better accommodate this group.”

The new program serves patients with mood disorders including depression, bipolar disorder and disruptive mood regulation disorder (DMDD), and co-occurring disorders, such as anxiety disorders, substance use or non-suicidal self-harm. Treatment includes evidence-based behavioral activation, which helps patients break challenging tasks into manageable goals; cognitive behavioral therapy focused on behavior, thoughts and emotions; and exposure to dialectical behavioral therapy-informed skills such as mindfulness. Family involvement, including a “Parent University,” further supports the programming.

“We recognize that adolescents with depressive disorders may have a complicated mental health situation that can also include trauma, family difficulties and experimentation with substances. This program will be able to address the multiple factors that may contribute to a teen’s mental health difficulty,” says Peggy Scallon, MD, medical director.

This program joins with Rogers’ newly renamed Adolescent Center for OCD and Anxiety and the Nashotah Program to create a trio of adolescent residential programming to meet the needs of patients from across the country.

Screenings for potential admission to the FOCUS adolescent program are available by calling 800-767-4411 or going online at www.rogershospital.org.

Wisconsin-based Rogers Behavioral Health System is a private, not-for-profit system nationally recognized for its specialized psychiatry and addiction services. Anchored by Rogers Memorial Hospital, Rogers offers multiple levels of evidence-based treatment for adults, children and adolescents with depression and mood disorders, eating disorders, addiction, obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder in multiple locations. For more information, visit www.rogershospital.org.