Parent Coaching, 2: Wrap Around Companies Supporting Family or Teen or Young Adult

Wrap-around companies help families prepare for transitions and reintegrating into a new treatment environment. These companies vary in their offerings — some provide support in the home before an out-of-home placement is necessary and others support family systems or personalize the services to work with just the teen or young adult who is coming home or going to college.

When a teen is in a residential program, the student’s therapist also does family therapy and assists the family in their growth during this more-stable time.  Because of the familiarity and comfort families experience, many parents opt for wrap around services as their teen or young adult transitions home or to college.  The focus of this model is to envelope the family in higher levels of support in the beginning of their transition and then as the family gets connected as a unit and into their community, the need for these services naturally dissipates. The family’s process is a natural progression and growth away from these previously-needed services.  And just to make things more confusing, there are three different types of companies that can fluctuate their levels of support and personalize their support. (See how this can get confusing quickly?!?!)

Vive! Family Support Program has different teams of people around the country (Northern CA, Southern CA, DC Area, Tri State, Massachusetts, Atlanta, Denver/Boulder and Chicago) that support families in a therapeutic mentorship relationship, before and during out-of-home treatment. Vive employs all masters level clinicians, licensed by the state (or completing licensure requirements) as Parent Coaches and Mentors.   Mentors advocate and life coach the student clients and are available 24/7. Parent coaches work with the parents. And, the Vive model includes regular Family Meetings, run by the Vive staff, where the entire family grapples with life dynamics using the skills, and trust, they’ve diligently worked on individually.

Second Nature 360 has mentors and clinicians around the country that provide a bridge from treatment back into the home (or college). This option is not tied to any one geographic location.  Their goal is to support the whole family through the most fragile period of transition; allowing the family to “bring treatment home” for a period of time with 360’s treatment-experienced staff. The mentor maintains daily phone or Skype communications with the student, plans regular visits with the student in college or at home, and provides 24/7 access to the Mentor as needed to support them during the real life challenges they face as they learn to integrate the treatment skills they’ve learned. Simultaneously the parents work with a licensed therapist who provides parent coaching support. Second Nature 360’s Mentors and Parent Coaches have worked in wilderness or private pay therapeutic programs and therefore, they speak the common language of the student’s experience.

Homeward Bound works with family before and after treatment.  This model is not tied to any one geographic location, either. Homeward Bound follows a curriculum with many published materials that support the transition, based off of their research and process.  Like the other programs, there are mentors and therapists supporting the family.  Homeward Bound also has a home visit during their process, to ensure that the plan is being followed through and to fine-tune objectives as necessary.

PRN For Families works with families in their home before or after treatment.  PRN uses “Parenting with Love and Logic” to support their therapeutic curriculum. Similar to the other models, PRN offers guidance “reunifying” families after a child returns into the home; unlike others, a niche that PRN fills is if your family has time, emotional capital and participation among family members, parents are open to feedback and changing your style & interaction with your child or children, then PRN can customize a therapeutic intervention to avoid out-of-home treatment.  They can come into your home, should you want that type of intervention. They also have professionals who will travel around the country to support transition, much like their colleagues. PRN provides a year of phone and email follow-up support in every contract.

Each one of these programs has a different flavor and it is worth investigating how they will work with your situation.  They also have different goals, and therefore price points.

It can be exhausting doing the research to get your troubled teen or young adult in treatment and during the transition out of the program, so understanding this information will inform you to investigate more efficiently.  This next step is important because you want the process to go smoothly after all the energy and time has been expended to create change in your teen, your family and yourself.  All the different models of transition programs listed have professional experience with teens in- and out-of- treatment and communicate knowledgeably and empathically with families because of their insight.

7 Questions To Think About When Hiring A Coach or Mentor 

1.  Does your teen need to be involved or does focus and support need to be directed on you modifying and honing your parenting skills?
2.  Do you want individual help, or is your child also ready for coaching?
3.  What is your budget?
4.  If you have other professionals involved with your family system, will this person work well with those professionals?
5.  What are your goals? What are you looking to achieve?
6.  How do you work best with professionals? Do you prefer face-to-face or can you benefit from telecommunication (via phone/Skype/FaceTime)?
7.  If your teen is in treatment, are there coaches at the treatment program?