Any vacation time or appointments away from clinic need to be approved by a member of the Aris Medical Team. Given enough advance notice, the treatment team can accurately answer this question based on the child’s behaviors and progress in medication management. Last minute notice may be denied due to lack of time to adequately prepare for the child’s absence.

That depends. Our standard answer is that every effort should be made to get your child to program, even if they are not feeling well. If they are not well, our medical staff will assess your son or daughter and see that they receive the care they need, including being sent home and/or any necessary medical referrals. If prior to coming to program that day your child is running a fever above 100.3 or is ill to the point that it prevents their ability to transport to program (based on your appraisal, not theirs), then this may be a legitimate reason to stay home sick. However, this absence must be medically approved by the Aris Medical Team, so a caregiver will need to call in and provide information regarding the nature of the illness. Many of our patients struggle with school attendance, so we make every effort to help kids deal with feeling crummy and still maintain their responsibility to come to program. Aris Clinic reserves the right to administratively discharge patients for excessive absenses from program.

This is a common problem with many of our families. You can first remind your child that coming to program is not an option each morning. If you have tried to get your child to leave for program and they continue to refuse, first call Aris Clinic’s IOP at 651-259-9750. You can then let your child know that in the event that one of our patients refuses to come into program, we will in all likelihood be calling the police. We do this because your child will need to be monitored daily by our medical and therapeutic staff. If we do not see your son or daughter that day, we cannot know whether or not they are physically and psychologically well. Determining whether or not one of our patients is physically well is our responsibility and we will see that it is done, whether by us or an officer of the law. If your son or daughter does not come to program that day, we have no way of assessing their psychological wellness, which includes the extent to which they may or may not be a danger to themselves or another. We are too aware that many of our patients are used to avoiding school and other responsibilities and we believe that our firm attendance policy helps our patients and their families lean to make healthy choices with regards to personal responsibility.

The first step to getting a child/adolescent admitted to the program is the completion of one of the assessment forms found on the page linked below.

Admissions – Needs Assessment Forms

This allows the Aris clinical staff to gather the clinical information necessary to determine if the program is a good fit for your child. If you have any additional questions, please contact Aris Clinic directly at 651-259-9750.

While each child and family present with a unique set of circumstances and we too have to acknowledge that we do not have access to a crystal ball, we can say from experience that moving firmly towards remarkable improvement can take more towards the full six weeks of program. We typically find that when you as a parent hear the most complaining and we’re experiencing strong resistance on behalf of your child, we’re likely on the verge of some really productive work. We ask that you never pull your child without first planning for discharge with your counselor and treatment team. Your counselor invites you to bring your concerns about treatment progress to your next family meeting, as these concerns are very important to address out in the open, with everyone being heard and understood.

She is. However, Aris Clinic’s IOP features group therapy, along with family therapy, as its main modality of intervention. While individual counseling meetings are certainly a part of some patient’s treatment, they will likely not occur very frequently in the beginning stages of treatment. This is so that the patient can become properly socialized and comfortable with their main psychotherapeutic process group, which is to be the focal point of much of the therapeutic work done at Aris Clinic’s IOP. If patients are provided too much individual therapy right away, this many times takes the focus off of the peer process group, which therefore renders the group much less effectual. Once both the patient and functioning group are working productively, individual meetings can be added, depending on the need of a particular patient. Please don’t hesitate to consult your counselor with any questions.

The simple answer is, yes. While family meetings can operate with only one parent, in family situations where there are two parents or two caregivers, we ask that both parents make themselves available for their first family therapy meeting. This includes parents who might live in separate households and/or situations where there are two separate primary caregivers. It is incredibly important to have all the adults that frequently come into contact with a child/teen on the same page. After your first meeting, your family and your counselor can work together to plan for future family meetings, which may or may not include both parents and/or other caregivers.

Generally, we say NO, for two reasons: 1) Insurance generally will not cover two services that are the same and our clinic though we are an intensive outpatient program bill for therapy and psychiatric services much like an outpatient therapist or psychiatrist. 2) Our goal is to build a therapeutic bond with your child and expose them to different types of therapy and coping techniques. Seeing two providers can be daunting and counterproductive to therapy. Medication management, safety wise, should also be managed by one person at a time so that the child does not experience negative side effects or have wrong dosages of medication. There are special occasions where seeing two therapists at the same time is approved; however, these must first be approved by the Aris Clinic’s IOP treatment staff. Upon your child’s discharge, we will work with your previous outpatient provider to successfully transfer care back into their hands.

Although this is a very common question our kids get, it can be a tricky one to answer. If you or your child find yourself worrying about what to tell others about being in our IOP, we ask that you bring this concern to your counselor’s attention, preferably during your next family meeting. Your counselor has a lot of experience helping kids transition back to school and their community, which means finding healthy, respectful ways to answer, “Where have you been?” Although transitioning back to school can be scary, we have found that the vast majority of our kids are able to do so successfully.

We recommend following up with your primary therapist given to you upon discharge. Building a strong therapeutic bond will help your child in the long run. If it is a medication question, please refer to your current psychiatrist upon discharge. In the event that you have not yet seen your new outpatient providers, you can certainly call Aris Clinic’s IOP at 651-259-9750. Aris Clinic does have patients who need to readmit to the IOP. If you believe that your child could benefit from readmitting to Aris Clinic’s IOP, please call to talk with one of our representatives or simply fill out an updated Pediatric Assessment form, found here.

The age/grade level based group placement guidelines are the following:

Green Group: Ages 5 – 11 or grades K – 5

Yellow Group: Ages 12 – 14 or grades 6 – 9

Blue Group: Ages 15 – 19 or Grades 9 – 12

If your child is demonstrating a different level of maturity or based on our current group dynamics, the clinical staff will find the most appropriate group environment for your child.

Yes, your child will participate in 3 hours of therapeutic programming per day, not including any adjunct individual or family meetings that might also be scheduled. Our yellow and blue group memebers, will spend one hour a day in a psychotherapeutic process group. At Aris Clinic’s IOP, this is focal point for therapeutic intervention each day. Our younger kids, or green kids as we call them, also spend one hour a day in a psychotherapeutic, socialization group. Whether a child or teenager, your son or daughter will also receive two additional hours of therapeutic group programming, which may include an activity group, psychoeducational group, nursing group, or mindfulness based awareness group.

The doctors do sometimes take current patients depending on the fit between the doctor and your child and the availability in their schedules. If your child is not seen by an Aris Psychiatrist, we will help you to find a psychiatrist in network with insurance and nearby your home. If your child is referred to another psychiatrist, Aris Clinic does, at your request, communicate with the new psychiatrist and will be available for consultation after discharge.

Initially, all patient should have their medications monitored if under the age of 18, given there is a risk of skipping doses, which can create side effects and mental health symptoms that commonly effect memory and concentration, which can then in turn affect compliance.

Medications suddenly stopped can cause very significant and sometimes dangerous side effects. Please consult the IOP medical team prior to stopping any medication, including over the counter medications that may have been ordered.

Please call the Aris IOP nurse at 651-259-9751 with any questions or concerns you may have about a new prescription.

Every therapeutic hour and school hour attended is counted towards school credits. It is in the child’s best interest to be here every single day, even on vacation days. Vacation days do add to the credits total as days attended in therapy. Often times, therapy hours are counted toward an elective like music or art or gym. Core curriculum hours are earned during the school portion of the day. If your child does not attend daily or is late several days to programming, we cannot count those hours towards school.

Every child’s home school district (the district that your house is in) will be responsible for driving your child during the school year. During the summer, parents will be expected to drive, unless deemed otherwise by the treatment team.

Yes, when they are approved by a member of the Aris Medical Team. This may take a few weeks to clear. The child is responsible for showing a valid license, reporting in their license plate, make, model and color of the car for safety purposes.

Please contact your district transportation office to determine if transportation will be available on days that the district is closed. Some children will be eligible for insurance rides if they have MA insurance or BCBS PMAP insurance. If your school does not provide a ride, and insurance does not cover, the parent is expected to drive the child.

No. It is against rules at Aris for children and families to associate with one another outside of program. This is also a HIPPAA violation of right to privacy for each patient and family.

No. Transportation to Aris runs first thing in the morning and first thing in the afternoon. We have a delicate system in that the schools are going out of their way to provide a round trip and often do not have the resources to amend to individual schedules.

No. The district runs only once and it is the responsibility of the parent to ensure that their child is on the bus. If your child does not ride either in the morning or afternoon, the parent will be expected to bring the child in on time. We recommend each child be at their bus stop 5 minutes prior to pick up.

All bus rules are regulated by the home district and privilege to ride the bus is determined by the driver. If the school informs staff that your child can no longer ride, then it is up to the parent to provide a ride. If your child feels that their safety is being jeopardized on the bus, we strongly encourage the child to talk to an Aris staff member with their concerns. Aris Staff are highly concerned with the safety and well-being of each child and will do whatever it takes to make each child safe with on and off the bus.

Each school district is able to inform you of the child’s pick up and drop off time and location. Please note that these times may change as students begin and discharge from Aris that are also on your child’s route.

If there is inclement weather or construction in the area, please allow for 10-15 minutes for a late bus. If you are worried, contact your district transportation office to verify if the bus is still on its way. Aris staff need to be aware of your child’s late arrival to program as well. Please call the mainline to let us know if your child will arrive late to program 651-259-9750.