Behavior Programs for Young People

At some programs willing ways Karachi, evaluations are done on limited bases by personnel contracted at the best addiction treatment center in Karachi from outside agencies. With us, the evaluator is here & the evaluator knows the child. The evaluation isn't simply psychological but multi-disciplinary. And the testing is done when it's optimal for the child; treating Teens with Compassion & Respect is important and is conducted in the context of day-to-day functioning here in the facility.

We do case formulation rather than symptom reporting. How the client responds to therapy, the therapeutic milieu, the classroom, and medications -- all of this comprises, and the early intervention of a person is necessary for the therapeutic assessment. We like the term "a therapeutic assessment." Our kids are getting three individual therapy sessions a week, & five group sessions a week. We're not just sitting around watching them. We're going after things from a therapeutic standpoint. The members of our treatment team are out playing basketball with the kids. They're sitting in the cafeteria eating with them. They're in the classroom observing them.

How long is a typical stay at Willing Ways Karachi for Behavioral Assessment?

Kids are usually with us for an average of six weeks, though each child's exact length of stay depends upon their specific case. In a traditional community-based hospital, the average stay is five to seven days. We're still in the baseline period when a conventional hospital discharges the child with a diagnosis and medication.

What is your program's philosophy about medicating young people?

We approach all treatment options thoughtfully & conservatively to find the ideal approach for each individual. We're not a place where you send your kids & we'll put them on meds. We will look strategically at what meds these kids need and which ones we can remove. I believe that many kids are either over-medicated or on the wrong meds, so we take a close look to make sure that what they're being prescribed is appropriate.

If we're using meds, we want to be sure that we're approaching things cautiously, carefully, and strategically. It's about matching the right approach and the right intervention with what's truly going on. But if you need to know what's truly going on, what's really fuelling the problems, you're much more likely to choose a less optimal intervention.

When you determine that a previous diagnosis is incorrect, does this mean the last therapist was not doing their job?

Not. One of the hardest jobs out there is outpatient therapy. Without question, that's the most difficult job for a therapist -- outpatient treatment with kids. Because so much of a kid's world is unobserved, they're not always the best self-reporters, and they may be hostile to the process; they may end up with an incorrect diagnosis or being prescribed the wrong meds.

We have the advantage of observing kids for an extended period of time and interacting with them on a daily basis. That gives us insights and opportunities that just aren't possible in outpatient therapy. But outpatient therapists do great work under difficult conditions, and they provide a valuable service in the right circumstances.

When parents send their child to the Willing Ways Karachi for Behavioral Assessment, what can they expect as a result?

In week 5, we conduct what we call a multi-disciplinary review. The parents come to our campus for this review, the child is present, and in some cases, prior treatment providers participate, either in person or via teleconference. We go through things from a therapy standpoint, from a psychological perspective (what the testing is showing), and from a medical view. We want to tie all of these components together and provide recommendations for moving forward.