Millcreek of Magee Treatment Center offers residential treatment and home-based programs for children & adolescents struggling with self-harm and other psychiatric and behavioral disorders.
Learn About Self-Harm Treatment
Learn more about self-harm treatment at Millcreek of Magee Treatment Center in Mississippi
The treatment offered at Millcreek of Magee, a self-harm treatment facility in Mississippi, is specifically designed to implement new, effective, and appropriate skills for coping and managing symptoms of several emotional, behavioral, and cognitive disturbances that affect young people. Each self-harm treatment option at our facility in Mississippi is sensitive to the specific needs of each child or adolescent who comes for care, and the compassionate staff at our treatment center puts forth every effort to help each child or adolescent cease maladaptive behaviors and overcome inner emotional turmoil. Self-harm, one of many issues that are known to trouble young people, is one such form of maladaptive behavior that is cared for at Millcreek of Magee in Mississippi. When a child or adolescent inflicts physical pain onto themself, a young person’s physical health is certainly at risk. Furthermore, the presence of self-injury often indicates that a youth is grappling with a form of mental illness and is utilizing self-mutilation as a means of coping. This psychological aspect of self-harm is something that is at the core of treatment for a youth who is self-harming. Effective self-harm treatment for children and adolescents who engage in this form of unhealthy coping is available. Such treatment addresses the underlying issues that trigger this type of behavior and replaces self-harming behaviors with coping skills that can serve youth well for a lifetime.
Millcreek of Magee, a self-harm treatment center in Mississippi, has been a leading provider of behavioral healthcare and educational services to emotionally disturbed and developmentally delayed children and adolescents in the state of Mississippi for over 30 years. Maintaining our standing as the largest private provider of services to children and adolescents in the state, we strive to provide self-harm treatment that emphasizes the individualization of treatment based on each child’s strengths. Our highly trained and qualified staff works towards increasing the self-esteem of all children who are entrusted into our care in order to build their confidence and increase their ability to successfully navigate through treatment. When children and adolescents come to us struggling with self-harming behaviors, we will do everything in our power to help them overcome their challenges while also teaching them the skills needed to embark on a bright and successful future.
How to Help a Loved One
Helping a loved one get treatment for self-harm
Children and adolescents who self-harm often do so in private. The reason for this has to do with the fact that children and adolescents who self-injure often know that they are doing something unhealthy that will cause distress for the ones who care for them most. As a result, it may be difficult for caregivers and loved ones to know if a child or adolescent is engaging in this form of destructive coping. Below are some indicators that a young person may be engaging in acts of self-mutilation:
- Wearing clothing that are not weather-appropriate, such as long sleeves when it is warm outside, so as to conceal the obviousness of self-injury
- Cuts, scrapes, burns, or other topical injuries that cannot be explained
- Wounds that are not healing in a timely manner
- Unexplained broken bones or bones that do not heal properly after being broken
- Patches of missing hair that suggest a youth is pulling out their own hair
- Frequent accidents in which injury is the result
If you notice any of these signs, it is imperative that you, as a caregiver or loved one, consider seeking self-harm treatment for a child or adolescent who is presenting with symptoms synonymous with self-harm. The sooner this type of behavior is addressed, the sooner the underlying contributors that led to this type of behavior can be realized and effectively treated.
Why Consider Treatment
Why consider treatment for self-harm at Millcreek of Magee Treatment Center in Mississippi
Self-harm can be a symptom of several different mental health conditions. What makes this type of behavior so dangerous is that the effects can lead to devastating, permanent, and even grave consequences. Children and adolescents who experience obsessions and compulsions to cause physical pain to their person often do so as a way to manage feelings of anxiety or depression. Additionally, many children or adolescents feel as though self-injury is the only way to free themselves from emotional pain. Because of these factors and common beliefs held among young people who self-injure, self-harm treatment is often required to address the problematic behavior. The implementation of treatment can help self-harming children and adolescents learn new methods for coping with stress and symptoms of mental health conditions, as well as reduce the likelihood for adverse effects of long-term self-injurious behaviors.
Our residential self-harm treatment center is one of the best forms of care that can be of great assistance to young people who self-mutilate. Within this type of self-harm treatment, youth are supervised and monitored by qualified mental health professionals who make sure that young people cannot continue their self-harming behaviors. Furthermore, since children and adolescents are prevented and encouraged to refrain from self-harm, these professionals at our treatment facility can step in at a moment’s notice to help a child or adolescent cope with triggers that make them want to self-injure. Our residential self-harm treatment center also imposes programming and modalities for treatment that help foster new coping skills and methods for managing symptoms of many mental illnesses, if present. Experienced psychiatrists are also on hand at our self-harm treatment facility to determine medication needs if it is deemed appropriate to treat a mental health condition that accompanies the self-harming behavior. It is within this kind of care that young people can have the most success in replacing self-injurious behaviors with that of healthy coping skills that can be of service long after completing psychiatric residential treatment.
Our Philosophy
Millcreek of Magee Treatment Center philosophy and treatment benefits
At Millcreek of Magee, a self-harm treatment facility in Mississippi, we are dedicated to helping children and adolescents lead healthier, more productive lives. By offering treatment that places a strong emphasis on a child’s inherent strengths, our caring and compassionate staff tailors treatment plans to be individualized based on each child’s unique set of needs, as well as on the skills he or she already has in place. Our self-harm treatment center strive to consistently encourage the growth of children’s self-esteem and enhance their level of self-confidence and independence by developing activities that are based specifically on each patient’s strengths. Each child’s treatment process remains malleable as we incorporate changes based on needs or challenges as they arise. We also place a strong emphasis on the educational aspect of treatment, keeping in mind the crucial role that education plays in a child’s development and on his or her future. At our self-harm treatment facility in Mississippi, we are devoted to consistently improving our programming by persistently addressing any requests, concerns, or issues that are brought forth in our patient surveys. Our patients are our top priority and we make it our sole mission to do all that we can to ensure their lasting success.
Types of Treatment
Types of self-harm treatment offered at Millcreek of Magee Treatment Center in Mississippi
At Millcreek of Magee in Mississippi, we strive to offer excellent customer service to everyone with whom we come in contact. We pride ourselves in our quick response to inquiries and referrals, and our admissions staff works diligently to ensure that a smooth and timely transition into our care is offered for all potential patients. Once children have been admitted into our residential self-harm treatment center, they will partake in a number of therapeutic interventions that are tailored to meet each of their specific needs, while simultaneously enhancing and building upon the strengths they already possess. Our treatment facility uses a cognitive behavioral approach to therapy in our programs here at Millcreek, which ensures that maladaptive thinking patterns are changed and positive behaviors are reinforced. Research-based journaling is utilized throughout individual and group therapies, which assists patients as they find success in their own treatment path.
The dedicated staff at our self-harm treatment center is proud to offer a positive-reinforcement based approach to care, guiding patients as they work through a Phase System throughout the course of treatment. This Phase System includes four distinct phases, Exploration, Knowledge, Motivation, and Achievement, and is accompanied by identified safety levels that reward children and adolescents on their progress through treatment. Such progress is acknowledged through each patient’s journaling and includes helping children identify triggers that lead to their behaviors, as well as helping them come to understand the importance of accepting the consequences of their behaviors.
The following therapeutic interventions are incorporated into the overall, comprehensive care provided to patients in our residential self-harm treatment facility:
Medication management: In some cases, children or adolescents who are suffering from mental health conditions may find relief from their symptoms through the implementation of certain psychotropic medications. Such needs will be determined on an individualized basis. We have board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrists on staff and on call 24/7 at our facility, as well as psychiatric nurse practitioners and family physicians who are available to meet any needs that our patients may have. Children are seen at least once each week for medication management.
Individual therapy: Individual therapy sessions at our treatment center are designed to be a time for children to meet one-on-one with their therapists in order to track treatment progress, discuss any concerns or challenges they are facing, and to work on individual skill-building. These sessions occur at a minimum of once each week, but most patients benefit from additional sessions, as determined based on need or when requested.
Group therapy: Group therapy sessions at our treatment facility occur at a minimum of three times per week, but are typically held more often. All group sessions are individualized based on the needs of the children present, but common topics of discussion include anger management, coping skills, relationships, independent living skills, trauma, and patient/student rights.
Family therapy: At Millcreek, a residential self-harm treatment center, we recognize how important family involvement is in a child’s healing process and therefore hold family therapy sessions at a minimum of twice per month. We also afford children the ability to make phone calls or visit with their family on a regular basis, ensuring that all family involvement is individualized in order to promote the most positive interaction possible for our patients and their families.
Education: All patients in our treatment facility attend our onsite school Monday through Friday from 9am-3pm. All classes are led by Highly Qualified Licensed Teachers and classrooms have a student to teacher ratio of 10:1 maximum. There is at least one therapeutic aide present in all classrooms and one-to-one aides are provided for children when academically necessary.
Experiential therapies: In order to provide a fully holistic approach to treatment, our self-harm treatment facility offers a number of additional therapeutic options on top of the traditional therapeutic methods. Such options include:
- Recreational therapy (held daily for all patients)
- Music therapy (including individual music and choir dance)
- Art projects
- Fitness club (intensive fitness programming is offered along with nutritional education)
- Walking club
- Book club
- Gym time (including activities such as flag football, volleyball, etc.)
Continuing Care
Continuing care and levels of treatment for self-harm
At Millcreek of Magee, a behavioral disorders treatment center in Mississippi, we understand how intimidating the end of treatment can be for many children and their families. For this reason, all discharge and aftercare planning begins at the time of admission. Appropriate discharge criteria is created for each patient depending upon his or her needs and treatment goals. Once that criteria has been successfully met, the patient’s treatment team works with him or her as the next, most appropriate level of care is determined. Aftercare planning includes recommendations from the patient’s treatment team for medical, educational, and psychiatric services. Our staff at our self-harm treatment facility will do everything in our power to ensure that the transition back into a less restrictive setting is a smooth and comfortable one for all parties involved, knowing that the most important thing is that your child continues to be successful.