Program for Troubled Youth Celebrates 25th Anniversary

PA Treatment and Healing (PATH), a non-profit organization that provides intensive intervention for troubled youth, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The program also offers drug and alcohol counseling and education classes.

PATH has 11 locations throughout Pennsylvania and offers 12 programs. Availability of programs, however, varies by location.

Originally part of Bethesda Day Treatment Center in Mifflin County, PATH of State College has been at its location since 2005 and serves Centre, Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin, Perry and Snyder counties.

“We moved into this building at that time and have been here ever since,” said Kristi Gregg, program manager of PATH in State College.

PATH serves as guidance for youth who show disruptive behaviors both in the home and in school. Referrals for one of PATH of State College’s three programs can be made by school district administrators, family members or a mental health agency.

PATH’s Alternative Education program is designed to help disruptive students get back to where they need to be academically and behaviorally, Gregg said.

Students in the program frequently exhibit even one the following behaviors: chronic absenteeism, persistent disregard for school authority, violent acts directed toward staff and other students, use of controlled substance on school property, possession of a weapon on school property, or severe behavioral problems.

“Obviously our main goal,” she said, “is to get them back into the public school.”

Dean of Students Jessica Solt said 13 students from grades seventh through 12th are currently enrolled in PATH’s Alternative Education program. The students attend PATH in State College to complete their school day there instead of at their normal middle or high school.

Students enrolled in the Alternative Education program still get core classes, Solt said, including English, math, history and science. They can also choose elective classes to take, such as current events or art, she said.

“They’re in the same classroom,” Solt said, “and the instruction is differentiated between their abilities. Not necessarily grades but abilities.”

Students also have daily group time, which allows them to focus on particular behavioral issues with a therapist, Solt said. A drug and alcohol class and life skills training are incorporated into their daily schedules as well, she said.

“Generally, we have all the subjects that a normal school would,” Solt said, “plus that therapy portion.”

“The school program is funded through the districts,” Gregg said. “They make a referral, they pay for their students to be here.”

Students can be referred for the Alternative Education program, Gregg said, by their school district administrators.

For youth who exhibit mental health-based behavior problems, PATH of State College offers the Intensive Adolescent Day Treatment program, which is an afterschool program.

“They come in with a mental health diagnosis and we provide individual therapy, group therapy and family therapy,” Gregg said. This program is for adolescents ages 11 to 18.

Youth who display one of the following behaviors can be referred by a family member, school district or mental health agency for the Intensive Adolescent Day Treatment program: anxiety, depression, parent-child conflict, poor social skills, mood swings and disruptiveness.

Adolescents who also have a history of trauma or are transitioning back into their communities or homes from an out-of-home placement can also be considered for the program.

The eight students are currently enrolled in the afterschool program, Gregg said. They usually go to PATH Monday through Friday for four hours a day when their regular school day ends and during normal school day hours in the summer, she said.

When the afterschool students arrive at PATH, Gregg said they begin with a therapeutic educational group that discusses issues such as anger, self-esteem and social skills. And after eating dinner, she said they usually do a 10 to 15 minute chore.

“We try to teach them that this is their center too,” she said, “(and) they need to make it look presentable.” Afterward, Gregg said the students meet in a second group and then will have recreational time.

“We encourage social skills where they spend time together in an appropriate, positive manner,” she said.

“We’re a small facility and we really look to take in more referrals,” Gregg said, “but we’re definitely a pretty intensive program especially on the mental health side of things.” Before students start at PATH, they usually have to already been through other mental health services first, she said.

Gregg said that in both the Intensive Adolescent Day Treatment program and the Alternative Education program, the students are encouraged “to confront each other in an appropriate way.”

“And that’s different from public school because usually it’s just the teacher controlling the classroom,” Solt said. “But here if someone sees a negative behavior, they’re supposed to confront their peers.”

Gregg said when parents hear that they are skeptical, “but it works.”

“It is peer pressure in a positive way,” Solt said.

PATH also provides an outpatient drug and alcohol program for adolescents and adults who have a violation. Many clients, Gregg said, are usually inpatients looking to begin outpatient therapy.

The drug and alcohol counseling group currently meets once a week with a therapist, she said.

Gregg said that since she joined PATH of State College in 2011 program numbers have increased, mostly due to stronger relationships with the local school districts and mental health agencies.

“That’s increased our clientele and I hope it just continues to increase,” she said.

Click here for more information about PA Treatment and Healing in State College.