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Willowglen Academy,
SC is committed to providing a caring community for mentally challenged
children and young adults experiencing emotional and behavioral difficulties.
Our Mission is to provide an array of services designed to enable young
persons to return to society as productive members of their community.
Willowglen Academy,
SC emphasizes a positive, individualized therapeutic approach that reinforces
the client's strengths and desired behavioral changes. The primary focus
of all services provided by Willowglen Academy, SC is not just to "manage"
the behavior of clients during treatment, but also to prepare the client
for existence in society by evoking long-term changes in their behavior.
Willowglen Academy,
SC considers every interaction with a client to be an opportunity for
that individual to learn. Structure, consistency, respect for the rights
of the patient and family members, close supervision, continuous evaluation,
recognition of individual needs, and positive reinforcement are paramount
to the treatment philosophy of Willowglen Academy, SC and the success
of clients.
Willowglen Academy,
SC does not adhere to a standard of prolonged treatment in a residential
setting, but prefers to increase the client's ability to transition back
to a more normalized setting in the shortest amount of time possible.
The goal of any Willowglen Academy, SC program is to alleviate immediate
and/or prolonged emotional problems or symptomology; diagnose, evaluate,
and design treatment to address the individual needs of the child or adolescent.
The ultimate goal is not just for
the client to successfully transition to a less restrictive or lower level
of care, but to maintain in that level of care. With this in mind, Willowglen
Academy, SC attempts to "normalize" the therapeutic environment as much
as possible, and emphasizes community-based services. This is accomplished
through "active" and intensive treatment and ongoing assessment, from
the point of admission to the time of discharge. A full array of services
and clinical interventions are utilized to assist the client in maximizing
full therapeutic benefit from their treatment. These interventions include
individual, group, and family therapy, as well as rehabilitative psychosocial
therapies, restorative independent living skills, community activities
and service, medical services, and psychiatric medication monitoring. |
Willowglen Academy,
SC strongly emphasizes a "team" approach, with the client being the primary
participant in their "team", and included in every aspect of treatment
planning. Willowglen views the relationship with the client, family, and
placing agency as a partnership. A client's success during placement and
after discharge is usually contingent upon the ability of the Willowglen
staff, family, and agency to form a unified approach to helping the client
achieve and maintain independence and a successful outcome.
Each staff member
at Willowglen Academy, SC is considered a valuable contributor to the
treatment process. Willowglen recognizes the importance of providing a
safe environment for clients and staff, as well as respect for the individual
rights and needs of both clients and staff. Training for all staff, regardless
of position, is a high priority at Willowglen Academy, SC and is considered
imperative in order for staff to effectively perform their duties.
Executive Director
Dr. Melinda
G. Drake earned her Masters of Social Work Degree from the University
of South Carolina in 1997, her Doctorate of Business Adminstration from
the University of Sarasota in 2000, and her Masters of Arts Degree in
Computer Resources and Information Systems at Webster University in 2002.
She has published her dissertation entitled, "IT Implementation:
A Social Worker's Perspective" in 2000, and an article through Allied
Academies entitled, "The Use of Computer Resources in the Mitigation
of Mental Illness" in April 2002. She has been employed at
Willowglen Academy since July 1, 1996, and is currently the Clinical Day
Program / Management of Information Systems Director. Some of her
projects at WGA and Phoenix Care Systems include the development of a
clinical management system for WGA-SC, the PCS website and most recently
working to develop the Client Management System with PCS. Dr. Drake
is currently a full-time faculty member at Limestone College where she
teaches Social Work, Computer Science and Business.
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