Self-Harm Treatment Center & Clinic in North Mississippi

Learn more about self-harm treatment at Millcreek of Pontotoc

Engaging in self-harming behaviors can have a devastating impact on a child or teen’s life. Despite what many believe, when children and teens engage in self-harm, they are typically not doing so in an attempt to end their lives, but rather as a means of dealing with emotional turmoil that they do not know how else to manage. By inflicting outward pain onto themselves, these children and teens are able to control what they are physically feeling, temporarily relieving them from their inner pain. Self-harm can quickly become an addictive behavior, leading many children and adolescents to find that they are unable to stop without professional help.

At Millcreek of Pontotoc, a behavioral disorders treatment clinic in North Mississippi, we recognize the unique, and often overwhelming, challenges that come with having a child or teen who is engaging in self-harming behaviors. Remaining sensitive to the needs of this population of children and teens, we offer specialized programming at our self-harm treatment center that is tailored to meet the individual needs of each child or teen who is entrusted into our care. Situated on 18 beautifully shaded acres of serene landscape, our 51-bed residential self-harm treatment center provides caring and compassionate treatment for children and teens between the ages of 6 and 20 who are struggling with an array of mental, emotional, and/or behavioral concerns, including self-mutilation. In this safe and secure setting, the behavioral and educational needs of these emotionally disturbed children and teens can be addressed as they develop the skills they need to learn how to manage their symptoms, overcome their negative thought patterns, and take the first step towards the happy, healthy, and bright future they deserve.

Helping your child or teen get treatment

Due to the fact that when individuals engage in self-harming behaviors, they typically do so in private, it can be difficult to determine whether or not a child is intentionally inflicting pain onto him or herself. However, there are some warning signs that may be present that could indicate that such behaviors exist. Examples of such warning signs of self-harm include:

• Unexplained cuts, bruises, scrapes, or burns
• Missing patches of hair
• Isolating oneself from family and friends
• Having frequent “accidents”
• No longer showing interest in things once interested in
• No longer participating in activities one was once interested (e.g. dropping off of a sports team)
• Low self-esteem
• Making statements indicative of feelings of hopelessness (e.g. “it’s just not worth it anymore”)

If you have noticed these or any other questionable behaviors in your child or loved one, it would be extremely beneficial to take him or her to a mental health professional in order to have a thorough evaluation completed. The longer that these behaviors exist, the more detrimental their adverse effects can be on an individual’s life. However, with appropriate therapeutic interventions, these behaviors can be put to a stop.

Why consider treatment for self-harm at Millcreek of Pontotoc in North Mississippi

The act of engaging in self-harm serves a very specific purpose for children and teens. As was previously mentioned, many times children and teens will begin self-injuring as a means of finding something that they can have control over. The inner emotional turmoil that they experience is so overwhelming that they feel incapable of controlling it and they do not know any other way of coping with such negative feelings. There can be additional circumstances that lead children and teens to begin engaging in self-harm, but regardless of what the reason behind the initiation of the behaviors is, the only way in which these individuals can find permanent relief from the turmoil they face is to have the underlying reasons for why the behaviors exist be addressed.

Our residential self-harm treatment clinic can be one of the best ways for children and teens who are caught in the vicious cycle of self-harm to get the thorough, comprehensive care that they need. In our self-harm treatment clinic, they will be monitored 24/7, keeping them safe from having the ability to participate in these dangerous behaviors. In this secure treatment center, children and teens can confront the negative emotions they are plagued by, learn the appropriate coping skills necessary for refraining from engaging in the behaviors in the future, and rebuild their own positive sense of self-worth. In addition to having the support of mental health professionals, children and teens in our residential self-harm treatment clinic will have the added support of peers who may be facing similar challenges. Our residential self-harm treatment clinic can help children and teens take the first step towards the bright, happy futures that they deserve to have.

Millcreek of Pontotoc’s treatment philosophy and benefits

At Millcreek of Pontotoc, a self-harm treatment clinic in North Mississippi, we are dedicated to helping children and teens lead healthier, more productive lives. By using our treatment center’s multidisciplinary treatment team approach to care, we are able to afford our patients comprehensive self-harm treatment plans that integrate their specific developmental, emotional, behavioral, and educational needs into their individualized plans of action for receiving thorough care. All children and teens in our self-harm treatment clinic benefit from having their own treatment teams which are comprised of psychiatrists, clinical therapists, nurses, teachers, and other healthcare professionals who formulate their treatment plans in conjunction with parents or guardians. When your child or teen comes to our self-harm treatment clinic in North Mississippi, you can rest assured that they will be provided with the most optimal level of care possible in order to ensure that they leave treatment feeling successful, enriched, and fully prepared for the future.

Types of self-harm treatment offered at Millcreek of Pontotoc in North Mississippi

At Millcreek of Pontotoc, located in North Mississippi, we understand that making the decision to place your child or teen into a residential self-harm treatment clinic can be difficult. We also understand that the process of doing so can seem intimidating, which is why we strive to make the admissions procedure as smooth, easy, and streamlined as possible. In an effort to be as accommodating as we can be, our treatment clinic’s highly trained and qualified staff is able to conduct psychosocial assessments over the phone, or in person, so as to allow for the admissions process to be a quick one. Once admitted for care, every child and teen will undergo a thorough evaluation process that includes physical, educational, psychological, and psychiatric assessments, of which the results will be added to the information provided by the initial psychosocial assessment. This thorough evaluation process allows the staff at our self-harm treatment center at Millcreek to gain a full understanding of each child’s unique developmental, emotional, and educational needs. Taking into account all of the information received throughout the course of these evaluations, an self-harm treatment plan is devised for each child or teen. The various aspects of the therapeutic interventions that your child or teen will be afforded as part of their self-harm treatment plan may include the following:

Medication management: In some instances, the implementation of psychotropic medications may be beneficial in helping to alleviate additional symptoms of mental health disorders in children and teens who are chronically self-injuring. Such needs will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Each child or teen will meet with a psychiatrist at our self-harm treatment center at least once each week in order to ensure the therapeutic effectiveness of any medications that are prescribed, as well as to make any changes that may be necessary.

Individual therapy: Individual therapy sessions at our self-harm treatment clinic are held for 60 minutes at least once each week and are designed to be a time for children and teens to meet one-on-one with their therapists in order to discuss any concerns they have, to track treatment goals, and to work on personal skills-building. Additional sessions can always be added depending on a child’s needs or when specifically requested.

Group therapy: Children and teens in our residential self-harm treatment center participate in 60 minute group therapy sessions five times each week. The majority of the groups are based on a cognitive behavioral therapeutic approach and include discussions on topics such as goal-setting, social skills, peer pressure, aggression, following rules, and bullying. All group topics are tailored to address specific issues that pertain to the children and teens participating in each particular group, so the topics will vary.

Family therapy: At Millcreek of Pontotoc, a self-harm treatment clinic in North Mississippi, we believe that family involvement is paramount in eliciting successful treatment outcomes. Patients and their families participate in 60 minute family therapy sessions at our treatment center at least twice each month. However, additional family sessions can be added at any time depending on a patient’s needs or when requested.

Clinical staffings: Each child or teen in our self-harm treatment center is provided with two staffings during their first month at Millcreek, and in one staffing per month for each subsequent month that he or she is in our care. These staffings provide patients and their parents or guardians with specified times to meet with their treatment team in order to discuss the child’s progress in all areas of treatment, including therapeutically and academically.

Experiential therapy: In order to provide a well-rounded approach to treatment, children and teens are offered additional therapeutic options as part of their self-harm treatment plans. These options include art therapy, play therapy, and daily recreational therapy.

Education: While participating in treatment at Millcreek of Pontotoc , located in North Mississippi, all patients will attend our fully accredited, onsite therapeutic day school. Classes are held at our treatment clinic from 8:00am-11:00am every day, at which time children and teens break for an hour of group therapy and then have lunch. All classes at our residential treatment clinic are taught by teachers who are certified to teach children and teens with special needs, and classes are held in small classrooms with low student-to-teacher ratios in order to ensure that all academic needs are fully addressed.

Continuing care and levels of treatment for self-harm

At Millcreek of Pontotoc, a self-harm treatment center in North Mississippi, discharge planning starts at the time of admission. Throughout the course of self-harm treatment, each patient’s progress is closely monitored in order to make sure that all treatment goals are successfully reached and that appropriate recommendations for aftercare can be made. All referrals for aftercare services are made based solely on each patient’s present level of functioning at the time of discharge, as well as based on their skills set and the challenges that they may still be facing. Our staff will work with each patient and their family in order to set up any aftercare appointments or services that will help the patient remain successful. Additionally, when it is appropriate, our treatment center’s staff can work with teens in getting them set up with part-time jobs following their discharge.

For those families who are still in need of intensive services, but whose children or teens no longer require our residential self-harm treatment clinic, we often refer them to MYPAC in order to facilitate wraparound services. MYPAC stands for Mississippi Youth Program Around the Clock and is an intensive wraparound service that provides patients and their families with home therapy services.

Some patients will benefit from transitioning from our residential self-harm treatment center to our therapeutic day school treatment program as part of their step-down process as they re-integrate back into their home lives. Patients taking part in this treatment option will receive weekly group and individual therapy sessions, along with monthly family therapy sessions and multidisciplinary treatment team meetings with their psychiatrist.

Whatever your child’s or teen’s ongoing needs may be, you should feel assured that the staff here at our self-harm treatment clinic at Millcreek of Pontotoc in North Mississippi will do everything in our power to help them continue on their path to success.