Dr. B’s Professional Blog Spotlight: Insight Treatment

“As a program, we believe that the family is integral to the treatment experience.”

-Dr. Trevor Small, Director of Clinical Development for Insight Treatment Programs

In this professional blog spotlight, Dr. Tracy Ballardo had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Trevor Small, the Director of Clinical Development for Insight Treatment Programs. In this role, he has the opportunity to work with experts in the field of adolescent mental health in their delivery of services at all the Insight locations. His role allows him to interact with all facets of the agency and with outside providers to ensure that Insight exceeds the standard of care in their innovative approaches to reaching teens and supporting families. In efforts to assist families find psychological treatment that continues to meet face to face while practicing safety measures to treat adolescents, Insight was selected to be interviewed to provide families with in-person services to treat a number of teen mental health conditions. 

Insight treatment began in 2000 as a response to a need for substance abuse and mental health treatment for teens and their families. Dr. Small explained that, in their interactions with the community, program founders noticed that adolescents in Southern California were struggling to find quality, intensive outpatient services. In establishing the first facility in Van Nuys, California, an integrated system was developed to focus on the establishment of community for the family and a support system for adolescents that created a sober, supportive group of peers to help them in their progress toward adulthood. Over the past twenty years, Insight has expanded and is now offering services in Van Nuys, El Segundo, Pasadena, and their new location in Santa Clarita. Dr. Small said that Santa Clarita is Insight’s newest location and will offer the same exceptional care as the other programs to families in Santa Clarita. Insight treatment offers free assessments for families that are interested in clinical services which include a day program for those teens needing additional academic supports as well as their Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP).

Insight focuses on teens and families who are needing a community-based program that provides them with group and individual therapy after-school four days each week. The program accepts insurance and works with families with parent support groups, multi-family groups, and individual and family therapy. Dr. Small explained that Insight’s ideal client is between the ages of 13 and 18 years old who is needing more support than weekly individual therapy but does not need residential care. Families come to Insight in many different ways including referrals from residential programs, outpatient therapists, and schools. Dr. Small discussed that some clients have been referred by their school when they have broken rules or been unable to keep focused due to behavior problems. Clients may begin attending program after being unable to follow the rules of their home and either running away or coming into contact with law enforcement. Others may come to Insight when their family comes to the decision that they need more help and support than their outpatient providers can give them.

Questions and Answers:

Dr. Ballardo: Insight serves clients with a history of substance abuse and other mental health conditions.  What other mental health conditions are treated?

Dr. Small: Insight provides support to teens struggling with a wide range of mental health issues including; depression, loss, trauma, anxiety, oppositional defiant disorder, and ADHD.

Dr. B: Can you speak to family involvement in treatment at Insight? How many hours per week can the family expect to be involved in program (i.e. family groups, individual family therapy, phone calls)?

Dr. Small: As a program, we believe that the family is integral to the treatment experience. If the family is involved, we know that the client will be involved as we seek to help the entire family system change through a model of community support and family focused treatment. We ask that families attend a weekly parent group, attend family therapy every other week, and attend our weekly multi-family group.

Dr. B: Do clients need to take a break from school to be in program?

Dr. Small: No. Our program is scheduled for after-school hours to ensure that our clients are able to attend their classes and then come to our program for the support that they need.

Dr. B: Does Insight provide academic support for students attending program?

Dr. Small: Yes. Our program has a day-treatment component which provides support for teens who need extra support in following through on assignments and coursework.

Dr. Small: It seems that Insight values in-person treatment during the pandemic.  Can you discuss the treatment philosophy guiding this decision?

In these unprecedented times, our team knew that our clients needed the community of peers and support in order to remain safe and sober. The impact of not having their community at Insight could lead them to act out in ways that could have significant consequences for them including relapse or sliding into a mental health crisis. Further, we believed that the Insight families needed us to help them through this period where their teens were struggling and expressing and/or acting out their feelings toward the entire family. In other words, we felt that it was essential to keep our doors open to help our families feel the support of our community to help them through these times and into their future.

Dr. B: Can you discuss safety measures that are taken place to prioritize clients’ mental and physical health during the pandemic?

Dr. Small: Insight began implementing stringent safety protocols from the first day of the COVID crisis to allow our community to remain together and feel safe for in-person treatment. Our facilities are all stand alone allowing parents and teens to come on-site without concern of riding in elevators with others going to different offices or sitting in small waiting rooms to be seen. Further, the physical outlay of the buildings are such that they allow for clients to exercise social distancing in that they are large warehouse spaces with industrial air filtration systems. Of course, anyone who comes on-site is required to wear a facial covering and wash their hands upon arriving. The surfaces of the facility are cleaned multiple times per day and temperatures are taken upon arrival to the program. Our COVID protocols are more stringent than the CDC requirements and are in place for the safety of our community so that they can do the work they need to do and get past their obstacles.

For more information about Insight Treatment Programs in-person services, please visit their website by clicking here.