CARES at Mount Sinai Morningside offers high school students mental health and substance abuse treatment plus academics—all in one setting.
For more than three decades, the Comprehensive Adolescent Rehabilitation and Education Service (CARES) at Mount Sinai Morningside has been helping high school students with mental health and/or substance abuse issues turn their lives around. The program integrates intensive psychological treatment with a complete high school education through the New York City Department of Education’s ReStart Academy (District 79), and it is the only one of its kind in the country, according to Shilpa Taufique, PhD, the program’s director.
Adolescents experiencing emotional problems and/or or dabbling in substance use are at extreme risk of adverse effects on their brain development, along with decreased academic performance and lifelong domino effects. CARES seeks to mitigate these effects with its educational and therapeutic components, including substance abuse treatment.
Therapy
The team of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, creative arts therapists, and substance abuse clinicians provide individual therapy (twice a week), group therapy (five times per week), family therapy (once a week), medication management, crisis intervention, case management, and academic achievement services. The program uses dialectical behavior therapy, motivation enhancement therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, and the Transtheoretical Model for Change, among others. Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and community meetings are also part of the program.
Academics
CARES provides a full-time, diploma-granting high school education curriculum through the New York City Department of Education. Students attend daily academic classes taught by Department of Education teachers, and clinical staff work closely with the teachers to ensure that students are attending their classes, working well with teachers and peers, and participating. Some students have the option to opt for a High School Equivalency Diploma based on their needs and preferences. Following New York State Education Department mandates, the diploma program enables students to earn and accumulate credits, as well as prepare for Regents exams. In addition to academics and therapy, CARES provides students with extracurricular activities such as a talent show, spelling bee, field trips to museums, yearbook club, music club, holiday parties, and prom.
Two Tailored Tracks
CARES branches into two programs: one for mood and anxiety issues, and the other for substance abuse.
AADP: The Adolescent Alternative Day Program (AADP) addresses problems with social skills, anxiety, and/or mood changes. “Alternative” refers to the more focused, individualized, safe, and respectful school environment that students are seeking when they apply from regular high school settings. AADP uses a milieu treatment model integrating therapeutic and educational components, and provides a unique opportunity to treat students aged 14-18 with severe emotional problems and school truancy.
CAPA: The Comprehensive Addiction Program for Adolescents (CAPA) serves teens aged 14-19 who are struggling with substance abuse. Co-occurring problems may include depression and other mood-related disorders; mild to moderate behavior problems (angry outbursts, disrespect, breaking family rules, lying, truancy, early run-ins with the police); school problems; and/or legal problems. A combined substance abuse/mental health model helps identify and treat all related issues. The program uses a harm-reduction model to help students reduce and ultimately abstain from substance use. CAPA is run in collaboration with the Addiction Institute of Mount Sinai and provides an alternative for teenagers who have just started abusing substances or who have already been in significant substance-related trouble.
CARES is located at Mount Sinai Morningside. For more information or to make a referral, please call (212) 523-3083. The application can be found here.
Shilpa Taufique, PhD, is the director of the Comprehensive Adolescent Rehabilitation and Education Service (CARES) at Mount Sinai Morningside. She is also the Director of the Division of Psychology for the Mount Sinai Health System and Chief Psychologist at Mount Sinai Morningside.