2006-02-06-YSC-rpt v2.pdf - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

22 • Receives a referral, has an initial session for intake of history, scheduling of future sessions, payment terms, and then a period of talking therapy plus medications lasting from 2 to 9 months. • Gets a referral to a boy who appears depressed and uses lots of marijuana. Meets with the youth and sometimes includes the parents. Contacts the school for details, often visits school for a professional meeting. Takes a day to day approach rather than an analytical or historical one. We also asked an open-ended question about whether there are better practices for service and treatment now in use, or better practices from state or local agencies than there were some years ago. Some of the typical responses to this question were as follows: My experience with the state is one of movement toward privatization through agencies which operate like private practices. The state seems to support large corporate institutions. Fewer people are going to work in community agencies. Social and political change has led to lots of isolation for those who are practitioners. No better practices: we're going backwards.Neuropsychiatric rates have gone down.Now, under state laws,parents can no longer get a second evaluation paid for. The state used to pay for an independent evaluation if parents were not satisfied with the one provided by the school. There need to be more connections between services. In some ways, this is improving. HMO referrals,for example, now require a contact with a primary care physician. Employee assistance programs of today are helpful. Replace is a good community resource but is underutilized. It is not thought of as a referral by referring parties. The Lexington Police are wonderful; they use their resources to best advantage! The problem is finding a psychiatrist to just do medications, without therapy due to reimbursement rates from insurers. The Council on Aging is a wonderful program. In general, services in Lexington have gotten worse in recent years. Processes are slow and laborious;there is no coordination of services. Replace is still serving youth well,I believe.