In Touch With Teens is a licensed and nationally accredited (COA) Comprehensive Group Living Services program that encompasses a holistic approach. This program is available to adolescent women up to the age of 18 who present with a behavioral-medical need. A unique aspect to this service is the program’s capacity/flexibility to serve pregnant/parenting adolescent women, as well as, those who are not in need of parenting services. Services are available to address a variety of treatment needs including, but not limited to: emotional inadequacy; abuse victimization; delinquency; and, behavioral disorders. House of Mercy subscribes to a philosophy of care that focuses on access, engagement, retention, and outcomes. All participating persons in recovery have access to not only substance abuse services but also co-occurring issues (such as problem gambling, mental health, and physical health concerns) through a recovery-oriented system of care.
All pregnant participants are provided prenatal care in order to bring their babies to term in a safe and healthy environment, while at the same time bringing order to their lives. Keeping mothers and their children together is important to the healing process and provides teaching opportunities. Counseling staff work with the teens to build upon their existing skills and develop new parenting approaches.
The teens work with a counselor to develop and implement an individualized treatment plan. Each teen is assigned a counselor who provides one-to-one counseling in addition to group and family counseling. Participants focus on their own lives and can process past events with a supportive adult. Specialty services offered include: anger management; healthy relationships; life skills training; health and wellness activities; substance abuse education and counseling; mental health treatment services; and, education and skill development sessions.
Special emphasis is placed on continuing their education with the goal of attaining a high school diploma or its equivalency. Job training assistance is provided when appropriate.
All programming is respectful of client issues related to diversity including language, culture, religion, ethnicity, and disability. Specialized efforts are directed towards providing services sensitive to the needs of those served (e.g. interpreter services, use of culturally specific media, etc.).