The Indian Health Service (IHS) funds 11 youth regional treatment centers (YRTCs) to address substance abuse and co-occurring disorders. The mission of the YRTCs is to provide quality, holistic behavioral health care for American Indian and Alaska Native adolescents and their families in a substance-free, residential environment that integrates traditional healing, spiritual values, and cultural identification.
In keeping with this mission, the YRTCs provide clinical services as part of a culturally relevant, holistic model of care. Services include: clinical evaluation, substance abuse education, group, individual and family psychotherapy, art therapy, adventure-based counseling, life skills, medication management or monitoring, evidence-based/practice-based treatment, aftercare relapse prevention, and post-treatment follow-up services. Five centers are federally operated; six are Tribally operated.
For more information on the YRTCs, please visit the IHS Behavioral Health website at http://www.ihs.gov/MedicalPrograms/Behavioral/
Paul R. Allis, B.S.W, M. Ed
Director of Public Health
Carolyn Hornbuckle, J.D.
Public Health Project Coordinator
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