McLean SouthEast Adolescent Acute Residential Treatment (ART) Program

Helping teens manage their mental health. Call us today to talk to admission staff about our treatment options.

The McLean SouthEast Adolescent Acute Residential Treatment (ART) Program provides intensive, short-term, and highly focused psychiatric care for teens and young adults through age 19 with emotional and behavioral difficulties.

With a length of stay between 10 and 14 days, this insurance-based residential program focuses on stabilizing adolescents in acute crisis.

Our coeducational program, located in Middleborough, Massachusetts, operates in an unlocked setting, maximizing each individual’s responsibility and capacity for self-control. The ART is a voluntary program so patients must be willing to participate in treatment.

For more information or to make a referral, call 617.855.2820.

We specialize in treating teenagers who are struggling with psychiatric diagnoses such as ADHD, anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder.

Groups and structured activities involve skills training, team building, preparing meals, and recreational therapy. These pursuits enhance daily living skills, build self-mastery and esteem, and provide a sense of autonomy and membership in a community.

Teens and young adults can be referred to the program from any level of care, including crisis care/inpatient, partial hospital, and outpatient.

We offer a full range of services, including assessment and consultation, group therapy, skills training, education, medication evaluation and management, and family therapy. As part of the Nancy and Richard Simches Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the program offers access to care and services throughout McLean Hospital.

Individual smiling

The McLean SouthEast Adolescent ART program helps teens focus on their mental health

We also offer day program services. The McLean SouthEast Adolescent Partial Hospital Program, is ideal for teens who require intensive, structured treatment but are able to manage living at home.

Our staff is composed of a multidisciplinary group of board-certified psychiatrists, licensed psychologists and clinical social workers, registered nurses, and expressive therapists.

The ART staff specializes in making sophisticated assessments, diagnoses, and recommendations in complex situations.

Learn more about child and adolescent mental health care at McLean.

Treatment Approach

The primary goal of treatment at the McLean SouthEast Adolescent Acute Residential Treatment (ART) Program is to help adolescents stabilize so that they may pursue further treatment in a partial or an outpatient setting.

In order to provide the best care possible, we work to develop an individualized treatment plan tailored to the specific needs of each of our patients.

Every adolescent entering our program undergoes an initial assessment with a psychiatrist and a clinical social worker. The evaluation takes into account biological, psychological, and social strengths and vulnerabilities.

For teens and young adults prone to self-destructive behaviors, including self-injury and suicidal ideation, dialectical behavior therapy and cognitive behavior therapy—treatment models that helps patients connect thoughts and actions—are used to help develop the coping skills to deal with emotionally overwhelming circumstances, interpersonal conflicts, and self-destructive urges.

Additional components of treatment include case management, classroom-based skills training, individual and family meetings, expressive music and art therapies, skills coaching, group and milieu therapy, recreational therapy, and medication evaluation and management.

Treatment covers the full psychiatric spectrum, including mood and thought disorders and their associated behaviors, family and school difficulties, and alcohol and drug misuse.

Patients may need intense verbal support during their stays, but are expected to maintain self-control without the need for physical management.

When needed, additional specialty consultations are available in neurology, eating disorders, personality disorders, autism spectrum disorder, and trauma. Following any specialty consultation, the multidisciplinary clinical team develops an individualized treatment plan that includes the recommendations of consultants.

Families are integral to treatment. We ask that they participate in family meetings and also offer parent support groups. Parents are invited to visit and at a certain point are encouraged to take their child on passes to leave campus.

Clinical social workers are available regularly for phone feedback and consultation. As a resource and partner within the community, we also make extensive effort to involve community treaters, including therapists, agencies, and schools, in treatment and aftercare planning.

Two teens sit at table

Treatment at the McLean SouthEast Adolescent ART Program is tailored to meet the needs of each young patient

The partial hospital program also offers a structured intervention for individuals who are in crisis but can safely reside in the community. The program is available as step-down option from an inpatient program or as a direct admission.

With a more intensive supervision and treatment than the traditional outpatient setting, our partial hospital program utilizes a multidisciplinary approach including case management, rehabilitation therapy, structured group programming, and psychiatry.

The day program operates Monday through Friday from 9am to 3pm.

Admission & Cost

Admission

The McLean SouthEast Adolescent Acute Residential Treatment (ART) Program focuses on treating teenagers ages 13 to 19 who are struggling with psychiatric diagnoses such as ADHD, anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder.

For more information or to make a referral to the Adolescent ART, please contact our admissions coordinator:

Phone: 617.855.2820

Referral Form

Residential treatment at McLean SouthEast doesn’t require a referral form. However, we do require a crisis evaluation at a crisis service or emergency room to determine if treatment at our adolescent ART is an appropriate option.

For those seeking structured day care, please fill out the referral form below. Once the form is returned to the program, we can help determine if care in our adolescent partial hospital is an appropriate option.

Cost

We understand that navigating the insurance system can be challenging, which is why we assist prospective patients to help determine eligibility. We welcome your questions and concerns and have a dedicated staff to help you.

The McLean SouthEast Adolescent Acute Residential Treatment Program is covered by most insurance providers. McLean Hospital accepts Medicare, Massachusetts Medicaid, and many private insurance and managed care plans.

More information on insurance providers accepted by McLean Hospital may be found on the Mass General Brigham website. You may also find it beneficial to review McLean’s patient billing and financial assistance information.

Treatment Team

Program Leadership

Catherine Lopes, LICSW

Catherine Lopes, LICSW, Program Director, ART

Ms. Lopes has been interested in working with children and adolescents since the beginning of her training. Her clinical interests include trauma, mood disorders, self-injurious behaviors, anger management, and individual and family therapy. Ms. Lopes is also the program director of McLean SouthEast Adolescent Services.

Peter B. Adams, MD

Peter B. Adams, MD, Medical Director, ART and Partial Hospital Program

Dr. Adams has been interested in working with children and adolescents since he started medical school. Since then Dr. Adams has been consistently involved with the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and works with children and adolescents at the McLean SouthEast ART as well as in private practice.

Kristen Lancaster, RN

Kristen Lancaster, RN, Nurse Director, ART and Partial Hospital Program

Ms. Lancaster came to McLean Hospital in 2003 and was an integral part in the ART’s development in Brockton and in its move to Middleborough in 2014 where she helped develop a separate partial hospital program. Ms. Lancaster is the nurse director for McLean SouthEast Adolescent Services and manages a staff of 33 community residence counselors. She has recently developed a leadership training program for newly promoted leaders.

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Melanie Harkins, PsyD, Program Director, Partial Hospital Program

Dr. Harkins has treated child and adolescent mental health across multiple settings, including outpatient, inpatient, school-based settings, and partial hospital programs. She specializes in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for adolescents and young adults who struggle with emotion dysregulation and high-risk behaviors.

Charles F. Moore, MD

Charles F. Moore, MD, Medical Director, McLean SouthEast Adolescent Services

Dr. Moore is also the medical director for the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project (MCPAP), Boston South Region. He co-developed and expanded McLean SouthEast’s Adolescent Partial Hospital Program. Dr. Moore is an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Staff and Associates

Our multidisciplinary clinical team is composed of child and adolescent psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, nurses, recreational therapists, clinical educators, and mental health specialists.

Staff have extensive experience in the treatment of adolescents with complex psychiatric illnesses including substance use disorders.

Staff are trained and experienced in a wide array of treatments, including cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), motivational interviewing, contingency management, and medication evaluation and management.

Staff members have experience working with patients from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

The McLean SouthEast Adolescent Acute Residential Treatment Program is part of the Simches Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry led by Daniel P. Dickstein, MD, FAAP.

Accommodations

Alongside 24-hour care from our expert clinicians and support staff, the McLean SouthEast Adolescent Acute Residential Treatment (ART) Program offers a setting that helps our young patients focus on their recovery.

Clinician points at laptop while teen is typing

Our setting is designed to give young people the chance to work on their treatment and recovery

Comfortable, shared bedrooms give our young patients a space they can make their own when they are focusing on treatment skills and school homework (when appropriate). Common areas are designed for leisure time as well as group treatment.

Our classrooms and treatment areas are ideal for our small staff to patient ratios. Meals are prepared by program staff and supported by hospital clinical nutrition services. Patients have access to exercise resources, including regular fitness activities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the ART located?

The ART is located at McLean SouthEast in Middleborough. For more information on directions, parking, and local accommodations, please visit our Maps & Directions page.

Who benefits most from the ART?

Our residential program focuses on treating adolescents who have psychiatric issues and/or substance use issues and are able to safely manage on an unlocked unit. The ART is a voluntary program so patients must be willing to participate in treatment.

Is family involved in treatment?

Families are integral to treatment. We ask that they participate in two family meetings each week and also offer parent support groups.

Parents are invited to visit and at a certain point are encouraged to take their child on passes to leave the campus. Clinical social workers are available regularly for phone feedback and consultation.

Is smoking permitted?

Our program is non-smoking. We do allow nicotine replacement therapy, such as gum or the patch, while in the program.

When are visiting hours?

Visitors are permitted, following program policies. Visiting hours are 2-8pm, seven days a week.

Please speak to the patient’s treatment team for more information. Additional details can be found on the Visitors page.

Are cell phones allowed?

Cell phones and other internet-connected devices are not allowed.

Are academics offered?

While our first priority is treatment, we recognize the importance of education. Each patient is offered two hours of tutoring per day as part of the usual daily schedule. Our tutors are licensed special education teachers provided through an educational specialty contract.

When permission is given, schoolwork specific to the patient’s current school curriculum is provided by the school. In many cases, teens can obtain an academic credit for work done while in the ART.

Is aftercare planning a part of the program?

The treatment team works closely with the individual as well as with family, significant friends, and outside providers to develop a personalized aftercare plan. Recommendations by staff are made based upon clinical needs, progress made during treatment, and long-term treatment goals.

Can former patients access their medical records?

All requests for medical records should be directed to McLean’s Health Information Management Department.

Are support groups offered?

To complement our programs’ services and encourage individuals’ initiatives in their own treatment course, many self-help groups are hosted by McLean.

Does McLean gather patient feedback?

McLean is dedicated to maintaining high-quality and effective patient care. To ensure that those standards remain at the highest level, we utilize a number of feedback instruments and quality indicators.

Among these tools are the Perceptions of Care survey which monitors patient satisfaction and BASIS-24™, a psychiatric outcomes measurement tool created at McLean and widely used in the U.S. and around the world, which delivers feedback on the patient care experience.

McLean Is Here to Help

If your teen is struggling to manage their mental health, call us today to learn more about the McLean SouthEast Adolescent ART. Our admission staff will talk you through our treatment options.

617.855.2820