Rogers Memorial Hospital Adds Residential Program For Adolescent Females

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Nov 18, 2014, 01:02 ET

OCONOMOWOC, Wis., Nov. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), approximately 11 percent of adolescents have a depressive disorder by age 18. After puberty, females are estimated to be six times more likely to suffer depression compared to similar males. Rogers Memorial Hospital is adding a new residential treatment program specifically designed to treat adolescent females, ages 13 to 17, who have intense, often painful emotions and difficulties managing interpersonal relationships.

Erik Johnston Ulland, M.D., is a board certified general psychiatrist and child and adolescent psychiatrist who serves as medical director of Child and Adolescent Inpatient Services and the new Nashotah Residential Program at Rogers Memorial Hospital - Oconomowoc.

"Teen girls are more likely to be biologically predisposed to intense emotion, leading to risk for anxiety, depression, self-harming behaviors, problems in relationships and a lower quality of life experience. Often their emotionally elevated state interferes with their ability to learn the skills they need to regulate their emotions. This just perpetuates these elevated emotions, leading to many problems," said Erik J. Ulland, M.D., medical director of child and adolescent inpatient services and the new program at Rogers Memorial Hospital in Oconomowoc. "This program will provide struggling young women with skills, such as mindfulness, acceptance and emotional regulation, as well as improved abilities in relationships."

Named the Nashotah program, the new residential program integrates dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) into all aspects of treatment. DBT is designed to teach participants how to change ineffective behavior and thinking as they gain more ability in emotion regulation. A core skill of mindfulness and acceptance is woven throughout treatment, leading to a middle path that allows the patient the ability to both accept they are doing the best they can, while acknowledging they can still try harder and change, a core philosophy of DBT and a life well lived.

"Through DBT skills, we want our patients to realize how to improve their lives once they are open to acceptance and change," said Dr. Ulland. "Family involvement will also be an important part of this treatment. They will be learning alongside their girls and will be encouraged to use the same interpersonal and mindfulness skills the girls are mastering through the program. DBT is a therapy that is lived more than learned."

The Nashotah program will offer a unique phased treatment system. Starting with an orientation phase, as residents progress in treatment, they can move to a working phase and finally a commitment stage. This stage allows for residents to become a peer-coach for new girls entering the program. Not only will this reinforce their skills but it will also provide hope through effective treatment for those in a similar life situation.

Rogers has engaged with Behavioral Tech, LLC, and the Linehan Institute for extensive training in DBT to support Nashotah and other programming at Rogers.

This is Rogers' seventh residential program and second dedicated to adolescent mental health.

Wisconsin-based Rogers Behavioral Health System is a private, not-for-profit system nationally recognized for its specialized psychiatry and addiction services. Anchored by Rogers Memorial Hospital, Rogers offers multiple levels of evidence-based treatment for adults, children and adolescents with depression and mood disorders, eating disorders, addiction, obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder in multiple locations. For more information, visit www.rogershospital.org.