About Helix Human Services – The Cottage – Springfield
The Cottage, run through Helix Human Services (previously Children’s Study Home), is a residential treatment program for boys aged 6-13. It’s in Springfield, Massachusetts and is built to support boys with moderate to severe mental health or behavioral problems due to trauma. There is a referral process and it is usually done by the Department of Children and Families (DCF).
After referral, interviews are done and a team meets to determine if someone’s a good fit for the program. Once the patient is accepted, treatment focuses on establishing support, safety, and comfort within the program. The staff doesn’t only enforce rules and maintain routine for the children, they also build a rapport and gain insight into each child.
When a client enters the program, they are given an individualized treatment plan which outlines which specialists are a part of their plan and lists any goals they have. There are a variety of psychoeducational and psychotherapeutic groups, and they are tailored to help to meet each person’s individual treatment objectives.
Using a trauma-informed approach, the center provides cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and motivational interviewing within group therapy. These techniques are person-centered treatment that mainly focus on developing mindfulness skills. Treatment works to improve a client’s distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, healthy coping skills, personal identity, and life skills.
They also have case management, family therapy, psycho-educational groups, occupational therapists, and life skills. They pride themselves in placing a patient’s needs first, with an approach that is therapeutic, not punitive. With a focus on healing, continuous observation and treatment plan changes happen based on the needs of each patient. They focus on healing, with continual evaluation and refinement of treatment goals and objectives to meet the needs of individual clients.