PROVIDING HIGH QUALITY, TRAUMA-INFORMED, CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE CARE
River Oak employs and trains staff to be both culturally competent and culturally responsive and to consider the impact of prejudicial incidents on ethnic minority individuals, families and their communities. Understanding and dismantling racism, mitigating unconscious bias and rectifying discrimination and stigma are central to this effort. Furthermore, we recognize that racism, historical events and population demographics have a disproportional impact on the physical and behavioral health of people of color, including depression, anxiety and other serious, sometimes debilitating conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorders.
PROGRAMS
Flexible Integrated Treatment
FIT serves infants, children and youth (ages 0-21) with a team approach to treatment planning allowing clinicians the flexibility to assess the level and type of services needed. As treatment needs vary over time, services are tailored to fit without interruption. Equally flexible is the location of service: home, school, River Oak clinical sites or community setting to best accommodate the family/care provider. A wide array of treatment interventions, to include multiple evidence-based programs, are used to include individual, family and group therapy.
Juvenile Justice Diversion and Treatment Program
JJDTP is a Full Service Partnership for probation-connected youth and their families, designed to enable youth with a Serious Emotional Disturbance and current involvement in the juvenile justice system to remain in their homes, schools and communities by providing a comprehensive array of mental health services and supports. Youth are referred between the ages of 13 and 17 years and may participate up to age 26. Goals include stabilizing placements, reduce homelessness, support academic participation, increase vocational or employment opportunities, reduce psychiatric hospitalizations and detention or incarceration.
Wraparound
WRAP is an intensive child-focused and family-centered approach driven by individualized needs to “wrap” services around a child, aged 3-18 years, at risk of losing their current placement or in order to return a child or youth from residential care to family setting. WRAP uses a collaborative team approach to bring a wide array of natural community supports and professional services to allow a family to build on their strengths. The team develops, facilitates and continually evaluates a comprehensive plan of services and resources. Children or youth place out of county or out of state are successfully reintegrated into a welcoming Sacramento home.
Therapeutic Behavioral Services
TBS is an intensive 3-4 month program provided to children and youth needing immediate assistance for behavior stabilization. The TBS team helps identify the trigger and the pay-off to a problem behavior. Very specific plans are designed to allow the child or youth’s needs to be met in a healthy way. Working closely with the caregiver, skills are developed to replace the high-risk behaviors.
Early Head Start Home Education Program
Tailors program services for children age birth to 3 years, and pregnant women to improve outcomes in cognitive, language and social-emotional development through weekly home visits. Referrals and access to community resources, group socialization activities and preschool readiness are offered. In partnership with Sacramento employment Training Agency Early Head Start.
Birth & Beyond Family Resource Center
Provides services and activities that educate, develop skills and connect families to community resources. The FRC located in Sacramento’s Oak Park community offers parenting workshops, home visitation, school readiness and crisis intervention services. Expecting parents, children and youth up to age 17 are welcome. Funding provided by First 5 Sacramento.
PRACTICES
The Incredible Years
The Incredible Years is an effective research-based practice that builds on the positive parent-child interactions to strengthen parenting skills and to prevent and treat behavioral problems in children 2-10 years. Group workshops are 14 weeks in length. Social skills groups are provided concurrently for the child receiving services to complement the caregiver’s curriculum. Play care is offered for siblings. The group is open to any family receiving services at River Oak on the recommendation of their therapist.
Multisystemic Therapy
MST is an effective program proven by research to produce long-term outcomes, including preventing out-of-home placement of adolescents (ages 12-17.5 years) with delinquency problems. The 3-5 month program empowers the youth’s primary caregivers with the skills and resources needed to address difficulties that arise in raising a child with behavioral problems. Interventions are designed in full collaboration with family members and key figures in the youth’s support system . Multiple meetings with the therapist occur weekly.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
DBT is a compassionate and evidence-based model providing specialized treatment to youth (ages 13-19 years) and families. DBT incorporates mindfulness practice along with elements of Cognitive Behavior Therapy for youth with difficulty controlling their emotions and behaviors. Problem behaviors negatively impacting quality of life are replaced with skillful behaviors. Caregiver/youth group workshop cycles run 24 weeks and accompany individual DBT therapy, telephone coaching for youth and family members, family sessions and parenting sessions and as needed.
Functional Family Therapy
FFT is an evidence-based short-term family therapy focused on improving relationships within the family targeting youth between 12 and 18 years. Weekly sessions run from 8 to 20 weeks based on the family needs. FFT’s treatment strategy is built on a foundation of respect for the individuals, families and cultures. Powerful treatment strategies to reduce risk factors within and outside the family through the use of specific goals, objectives and therapy interventions are utilized.
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
TF-CBT, an evidence-based proactive, is designed to help children and youth ages 3 years and over overcome the negative effects of traumatic events such as physical or sexual abuse, traumatic loss of a loved one, violence, natural disasters or medical treatments among many issues. It helps children and youth improve their trust in others, cope better with reminders of their trauma, learn ways to stay safer and deal with future crises. Children and youth learn to take control of the memories, feelings and secret worries that have been controlling them.
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy
PCIT is an evidence-based treatment program working with caregivers and children ages 2-8 years to improve their relationship and teach caregivers skills to manage the child’s challenging behaviors. Utilizing a one-way mirror and a bug-in-the-ear, clinicians “coach” parents with their children live in session to increase positive interactions and communication skills. One hour weekly sessions are held for 14-20 weeks.
Motivational Interviewing
MI is a client-centered counseling style that helps a person identify and change a behavior that is not consistent with their personal values or goals. The person identifies the problems, consequences, risks and benefits of the behavior as they move through change.
Transition to Independence Process
TIP assists transition aged youth bridge the gap from adolescence to young adulthood through gaining skills and engaging in their own futures planning.
Teaching Pro Social Skills
This research-based program works to equip youth aged 13-18 years with developing social, anger management and moral reasoning skills in a group setting. Parents/caregivers are encouraged to attend the 10 week workshop with their youth.
Coping Cat
Is a cognitive-behavioral treatment for ages 8-17 to treat anxiety disorders.
Services offered to complement treatment programs
Psychiatry
Psychiatric evaluation, medication monitoring, consultation and case management are offered on referral throughout all agency clinical services. All psychiatrists are either pediatric or adolescent board certified.
Psychology
Staff psychologists provide assessment and consultation to ensure the highest quality of service and outcome.
Family and Youth Advocates
Are available to support all youth and families enrolled in River Oak services. This team has lived experience navigating complex social service systems to qualify them to provide assistance, support and insight to our youth and families.