Adolescent Residential
Creating a Healing Environment
The East Mountain Youth Lodge (EMYL) on the Carrier Clinic campus is a residential treatment program providing comprehensive 24-hour clinical, therapeutic and educational treatment to 13 to 18-year-old adolescents with psychiatric and/or emotional difficulties.
Our Mission
We understand that our residents are survivors not only of psychiatric, learning and emotional difficulties, but often abuse, neglect and violence as well. As such, they have developed coping strategies such as substance abuse, running away, defying rules and authority figures, even attempting suicide. As part of our mission to create, promote and maintain a healing environment, we invite teens to put aside their past survival skills and learn new ways of coping and self-expression. We reinforce these newly-acquired skills with individual and group therapy, family education, therapeutic recreation and day-to-day interactions with highly-trained staff.
The aim is to nurture emotional healing, provide social skill acquisition, and prepare our residents for a future in a less restrictive setting. Families are involved in our each individual's treatment from day one to ensure the opportunity to meet their four basic needs: Belonging, Mastery, Independence and Generosity.
Our Facility
In an effort to individualize treatment and maximize the effectiveness of therapies, our young people are served in four distinct residential settings. 
The Bear Lodge is our treatment program for a population of young men struggling with a variety of co-occurring disorders. 
The Eagle Lodge is our program serving a population of mostly dually-diagnosed adolescent females who exhibit more oppositional/conduct disordered behaviors with either co-existing substance abuse disorders and/or emotional instability. 
The Butterfly Lodge serves adolescent females, more so those who present a more intense need for mental health treatment to help them overcome various psychiatric crises in their lives. Most have a history of multiple hospitalizations for unsafe behaviors, and need to recover from various depressive/mood disorders and self-harmful behaviors. 
The Swan Lodge, our newest program, is a 10-bed coed IRTS (Intensive Residential Treatment Service) program that serves young people with the highest psychiatric acuity, who've been placed out of the home.
Our Residents
Our residents include males and females age 13-18 with psychiatric, emotional and behavioral difficulties, most of whom have a history of failed placements elsewhere, and who have experienced multiple traumas such as sexual abuse, abandonment and loss. Many residents have been previously diagnosed with Conduct Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, Anxiety, Impulse Control Disorder, Substance Abuse, and various other psychotic and personality disorders. Their behavioral histories could include property destruction, violence, anti-social behavior, stealing, defiance of authority, poor school attendance, illegal activity, running away and drug use/dealing.
Our Programs
All programs provide 24-hour intensive residential services plus afford access to the full array of an adolescent continuum on campus, including a special education school program and an Adolescent Inpatient Unit if needed for acute crisis stabilization. EMYL provides individual, group and family therapy, psychiatric, and nursing services as well as education, recreation and adventure-based treatment, all aimed at building our resident's strengths, coping mechanisms and preparing them to be successful in less restrictive settings. We offer a comprehensive family treatment component, addiction treatment and volunteer experiences available to our young people as well. On the grounds, residents have the use of a full indoor gym, an outdoor in-ground pool, a softball field, tennis, basketball and volley ball courts, a game room, chapel, art room, hiking trails and a low ropes adventure treatment site. Specialized programs such as equine therapy further encourage teens to get in touch with their feelings and emotions, so they can better understand themselves and begin to heal.
Our Staff
The East Mountain Youth Lodge provides one direct care staff member for every four to five adolescents. Our clinical team includes a Board-certified psychiatrist, licensed clinical social worker, registered nurse, substance abuse counselor and residential counselor.
Our Treatment Services
- Individual, family and group therapy with licensed clinical social workers
- Psychiatric consultation and medication monitoring
- 24-hour therapeutic milieu including Specialized addiction treatment
- NA/AA meetings in the community
- Daily social skills training groups
- Education at Carrier's East Mountain Day School
- Pre-vocational training
- Individualized case management and discharge planning
- Physical fitness program includes camping, canoeing, hiking, rock climbing, swimming, trips to the beach, lakes, amusement parks and sporting events
- Year-round recreational activities are geared to expose residents to appropriate social interactions and cultural programs such as music, arts and crafts
- Adventure-based counseling
- Full Value Contract approach, peer intervention and group accountability
- Crisis intervention
Continuum of Care
As part of Carrier's full continuum of care, residents have access to a wide array of additional services: - Inpatient Care
- Lab Services
- Physical Therapy
- East Mountain School
