Solano Day Rehab program opened up its doors February 2009 and is a unique one of a kind program within the Sierra system. Solano Day Rehab is an Intensive Mental Health program that is integrated with the academic component on the Solano school site. Students are referred in a collaboration effort with local districts and Solano County Mental Health. Students meet specific criteria and go through the IEP process and then are placed into one of our Day Rehab classrooms. These students have intensive mental health needs that are impeding their academic success. By placing them into the program our goal is to help them gain academic and mental health success.  

In each Day Rehab classroom, there is a Mental Health Specialist who remains in the classroom the entire day for mental health support, while performing specific functions throughout the day. Each classroom has a Registered or Licensed Therapist assigned to provide support and Individual Therapy on a weekly basis and as needed. The Day Rehab program has specific components that are a part of the day-to-day activities. In the morning, there is a community meeting in which goals for the day, current events, or any other specific mental health related information needs are discussed. Journaling is also an integrated part of the day in which the Mental Health staff will provide a journal topic and the students spend time expressing themselves in writing. This is another form of expression that allows the mental health team to follow up with students in regards to topics that students may feel uncomfortable talking about verbally.  In the middle of the day a process group takes place where a variety of topics are discussed and focused on during this time. A few examples are:  problem solving, coping skills, anger management, social skills training, relaxation techniques, stress reduction, etc. 

All of the students that are in the Day Rehab program have an outside Solano County Mental Health case manager that is assigned to them. The case manager provides support in the community and can offer additional services and resources. Each student has a specific treatment plan and diagnosis that is focused on throughout the process of treatment.  Each plan is reviewed annually with the family for progress and additional goals. As a mental health team, we treat a wide variety of diagnoses that exist within our students. Some of these include: Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, Bi-Polar, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Conduct Disorder, etc. 

Our students benefit from having the support of the educational staff and the Mental Health staff that in on campus.  I am very proud to see both teams integrate together and work to best support our students. As a team, we have had the chance to support students with their ultimate goal of returning to public school. Most often, we transition students in small steps from the day rehab program. First, we transition them out of the day rehab classroom and into one without Mental Health support. This gives the student the ability to see how well he/she will do without the additional support at school. Due to these students having a specific mental health diagnosis and treatment plans, they continue to receive treatment from the county at a county mental health office.  In this scenario, the student receives their mental health treatment through the county. If the student is successful in this transition, then a further transition back to public school is approached.

Solano Garden

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Student Highlight

We have a student David who has been through a great deal in his young age. David’s Father died when he was very young. Then last year David’s mom passed away. Through this last year, David has been able to grow both academically and socially. David has used coping skills that he has been taught. Within the Mental Health program, David has been able to grieve and to work on grief and has an understanding of how this has affected him and the steps that he needs to take in order to handle his own life.  It has been amazing to see such a dynamic, resilient young man who has been able to hold his life together both in the classroom and in his emotional stability.  We look forward to seeing further growth within this young man.

Sierra Partnership with Solano County Mental Health: The Sierra Mental Health Program is a contracted service provider through Solano County Mental Health. All clients to whom Solano Day Rehab provides services are first assessed by Solano County Mental Health and then referred to Solano Day Rehab to act as an adjunct in the client’s overall treatment. 

Therapeutic Milieu: The Day Rehabilitation Program is designed for a full-day model with clients being in the milieu on a continuous basis for at least four hours. The milieu includes skill building groups, process groups, and additional adjunctive therapies. A Mental Health staff will be present at all times in the milieu to provide interventions, support and encourage attainment of behavior and academic goals.   

Community Meeting: A morning group is held within the classroom environment on a daily basis. This group includes check in’s with the student to assess their current mental health status. Community Meetings may include but are not limited to: The schedule for the day, current events, classroom expectations, “Therapeutic” word of the day, business from the previous day’s meetings or from previous day rehabilitation experiences, conflict resolution, reviewing individual goals, and setting the general theme for the day. This group is aimed at getting the day started on the right foot and ensuring that all students are in the right mental state to begin academics. 

Journaling: Journal is an essential part of the Day Rehab program and is done right after community meeting. The Mental Health Specialist in the classroom chooses a topic that has relevance for the classroom and has the students self reflect and addresses their mental health status. These topics can cover such issues as: Fear, empathy, problem solving, conflict resolution, etc. Journals allow for students to communicate their thoughts and feelings through a different avenue rather than verbal communication. Some students have difficulty expressing themselves. When a student opens up in his or her journal, the mental health team will follow up with that student to ensure that his or her mental health needs are being met. 

Process Group: Students in the Day Rehabilitation Program at Sierra receive group rehabilitation services provided by Mental Health Specialists. In Group Rehabilitation sessions, the students work on goals of mental health treatment in a group setting to utilize social processing and peer reinforcement. Students learn that they are not alone in experiencing life situations and can experiment with relating to people differently in a safe environment. The process aims to help the students learn from the experiences of others with similar problems. In addition it allows students to better understand how other people view the world and interact with people. Service activities include assisting students to maintain or improve functional skills, daily living skills, social skills, grooming and personal hygiene skills, meal preparation, etc.

Individual Psychotherapy:  Individual therapy is provided to students through AB3632 by one of the qualified licensed or registered Therapists (ASW, IMF, LCSW, MFT, or PhD) on site. Each Therapist has a caseload of 10 or more students who are in the Day Rehabilitation Program.  One of the goals of Sierra Therapy services is to utilize professional activities in the development of interpersonal relationships, and gaining insight into a better understanding of self-regulation. The clients will be supported and encouraged to make positive changes and achieve agreed upon goals. Therapists work within a clearly contracted, ethically bound relationship that allows the student to obtain assistance in exploring and resolving issues of an interpersonal, intra-psychic, and/or personal nature. This process is based on an ethos of respect for the students, their values, their beliefs, their uniqueness, confidentiality and the right to self-determination. Sierra Mental Health Therapists continually update Solano County Mental Health Service Coordinators about the client’s progress in Individual therapy and when goals of treatment are sufficiently met. At this juncture, new goals may be established and/or recommendations made for alternative, less intensive services.  

In addition to offering therapy, Sierra Therapists may provide some adjunct case management for collateral support to the student’s parents as well as attending and collaborating at the Individual Education Plan meetings. Family Therapy services are offered where indicated and requested by Solano County Mental Health Service Coordinators and the IEP team.

Family Support: Sierra Therapists are the main point of contact between the family and the Day Rehabilitation program. Contact between the Therapist and caregiver will occur at a minimum of one time per month. Contacting a family member includes but is not limited to: Collateral phone contact, IEP support, annual treatment review with Solano County PSC and parent and Family Therapy (if authorized). 

In the Day Rehab program we incorporate transition skills within the program to support our students. Students are given the opportunity on a weekly basis to select an independent living skill that would best augment their future independence. Often times, these skills are also covered during community meetings as well as journal topics that are followed up by a group discussion along with show and tell activities. Students are instructed on various skills such as cooking, transportation, job hunting, interviews, higher education and hygiene that are needed to aid them in becoming self sufficient. Students are required to demonstrate their knowledge and their ability to adapt to the various challenges that will confront them as they enter the private sector on their own. Students are able to be more readily facilitated and taught these skills with repetition and constant involvement by themselves with assistance from mental health staff as an additional source of information, instruction and guidance.  The day Rehab program provides the intensive Mental Health treatment while incorporating some of these transitional services to help them get their individual needs met.  Often the Mental Health team will assess how the students Mental Health needs are affecting their ability to be involved in transitional services and aid in providing coping skills for these. Often our students are affected by their anxiety and this impedes them from succeeding in their transition goals. The goal of the Day Rehab program is to help them through these challenges so that they can get to the place where they can develop the proper coping skills and social skills so that they can be productive within society.

Sierra Schools Regional Newsletter

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School Accountability Report Cards

Sierra School is pleased to announce that our School Accountability Report Cards (SARC) are available for review.  Sierra School has made their SARC available to you in two different formats: 1) you may review the document via the link below or 2) you may request a paper copy by contacting your school office.

Sierra School of Solano County 2007-2008 SARC