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Residential Program
The Harpst Campus of the Murphy-Harpst Centers is a 56-bed residential treatment program designed to meet the needs of Georgia’s children and youth who have severe emotional and/or behavioral problems. This program provides an environment of life and learning experiences designed to give children whose lives have been chaotic a place where they can feel safe; be surrounded with warm and knowledgeable caretakers; and receive physical, mental, emotional and spiritual nourishment. The children receive treatment services from professionals in the fields of psychiatry, psychology, nursing, clinical social work, and substance abuse. The program is open to males and females ages 6-17 who fit the criteria for admission.
The Harpst Campus programs also include community-based therapeutic foster care homes in several areas in the northwest Georgia region. |
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Upon admission to the Harpst Campus, any child who arrives without a current psychological assessment is provided with a complete social, psychological, psychiatric, physical, educational and family assessment. This information is compiled to formulate the child’s Individual Service Plan. Input for this plan is also gathered from the child, his/her caseworker, family member(s) as available, teachers, and any other significant people in the child’s life who are approved sources of information. During this assessment phase the child resides in what is called the OASIS Unit; here the child also receives orientation to the various campus programs and opportunities, the behavioral modification system, campus rules and expectations. As the OASIS staff observe and work with the child, interventions that work best with the particular child and that utilize the child’s strengths are noted, and this information provides the foundation from which a behavioral system, tailor-made for each child, is developed.
When all assessment information is compiled and the child has successfully completed the orientation phase, he/she is assigned to a carefully selected milieu (environment in which the child resides). This nurturing setting allows those working with the child to create a warm, homelike environment in which the child can feel safe, well cared for, loved, and attended to while being provided with the consistent structure necessary for wholesome growth. As the child progresses through the program, he or she participates in a wide variety of therapeutic activities such as:
* Individual and group psychotherapy
* Milieu group meetings
* Family therapy (if family is available and appropriate)
* Art and psychodrama
* Therapeutic recreation experiences
* Equine therapy
In addition to these there are many activities and experiences in which he or she will participate. Among these are activities designed to teach
* Goal-setting and goal-achieving
* Anger management
* Techniques for behavior control
* Self care and self esteem
* Social skills
* Techniques for self discipline and delayed gratification
* Effective communication skills
* Independent living skills (for older residents)
* Educational skills
* Team-building
Children are also provided enrichment through field trips, camping experiences, the Challenge Course, tutoring and mentoring opportunities, and many special events provided by hundreds of individuals, civic groups, churches, and other volunteers throughout the year. An array of religious activities and spiritual enrichment experiences are also offered to the residents; participation is voluntary.
The residential program also provides 24-hour on-site or on-call medical care, dental care, and a certified on-campus school.
Length of stay on the Harpst Campus depends on the child’s successful completion of his or her treatment goals. Generally, goals can be accomplished within six to twenty-four months; in some cases more time is required.
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The Harpst
Campus Equine Therapy Program
In 1984 the clinical and administrative teams at Murphy-Harpst decided to add animal-assisted therapy to the treatment center’s array of therapeutic services. Since that time, horses have been an integral part of the program because research, as well as the agency’s experience, shows how working with animals – especially horses – can be an excellent adjunct to a child’s healing process.
Severely abused and neglected children have suffered at the hands of those bigger than they are much or all of their lives. It is not hard to understand why they would be hesitant to trust an adult. In many cases, those who should have kept the child safe hurt him or her again and again. The child has become angry, oppositional, and fearful, pushing away anyone who tries to help.
It is not uncommon for a horse to manifest, for whatever reasons, the same behaviors as the abused child. Each of Murphy-Harpst’s horses has as individual a personality as the children who reside here. Horses, too, can be angry, oppositional, fearful and distrustful. They can also respond to love, care, regular meals, and consistent discipline.
When placed together, the horse can become a mirror for the child. Carefully the equine therapy staff teach the child to groom the horse, knowing this process will eventually teach the child about caring and nurturing both for him or herself and for others. He or she learns that even an oppositional horse can become a true friend, maybe the first true friend this child has ever had. A relationship is built which allows the child to learn lessons through the horse that he/she can carry into his or her life each day. Eventually the relationship building and sustaining skills can be transferred on to appropriate people in the child’s life.
Most funding sources do not understand the importance of this program to children. For this reason, it is not included in reimbursements received for the child’s treatment. To continue this program, the Murphy-Harpst Centers rely on the donations from individuals or groups who understand the value of equine therapy.
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