<p>We are considering a summer program for our daughter and have been looking at Menninger Clinic’s Compass Program. I was wondering if anyone has had any previous experience with this or other RTP 's that are geared to college age / young adults.</p>
<p>Our daughter is currently seeing a therapist at her school on a bi-weekly basis for General Anxiety and most likely (yet currently undiagnosed) BPD. We were looking for a program that provides DBT and/or Mentalization Therapy training over a 4-8 week period. </p>
<p>Our daughter is 18 and will be completing her freshman year at school. The problem with many of the programs is they are either for high school students or for 18+. A purely adult program would not be appropriate yet neither would a teen program. The only one we’ve found that is residential and is geared to the 18-25 age bracket is Menniger. It looks like a great program but we just want to make sure we’ve explore all the other options.</p>
<p>My ex best friend was in and out of one during high school. It really didn’t seem to help her at all… but she was a case with much bigger issues then what you just mentioned. Good luck to your daughter.</p>
<p>EPTR- We have done a fair amount of research on what is available. We were just hoping to get any personal feedback from other who may have experience with this treatment program vs others with a similar age bracket.</p>
<p>Fendergirl- Thanks for the good wishes. We have been “lucky” I suppose in that most of my daughter’s issues really came to the forefront this year when outside the structure of homelife, making choices, etc. Like your friend, it does seem many younger teens go for treatment but aren’t fully vested in being responsible for their treatment. It’s an option we’re offering our daughter but if she isn’t interested in going then it isn’t going to be beneficial for her. I think many under 18s don’t really have a choice to attend so they express their “choice” in other ways that make treatment less than successful. And also these things take time I suppose</p>
<p>Hi, we are thinking of sending our daughter there too, but trying to deal with the cost issue. There doesn’t seem to be any way to know ahead of time what if anything our insurance will reimburse us for (and I think that’s the way it is with coverage for all medical treatment). So it seems like you just jump into the program and hope insurance will eventually come through with some reimbursement. It’s out of network for us, so insurance will cover 70% of the ALLOWABLE amount. What is “allowed” is the tricky part. We have Blue Cross where we are, and they say the Houston Blue Cross determines the allowable amount, but Houston BC won’t talk to a member of another BCBS. After the determine what’s allowed, we have to cover all that insurance doesn’t reimburse.</p>
<p>And what is allowable is determined by the procedure codes they use at Menningers. Except the Admissions Counselors say Menningers just charges a flat fee and doesn’t deal in procedure codes. (And even if they did, procedures used are determined by what their evaluation shows.) So how do we deal with our insurance company? Figure out the codes for the procedures they are using ourselves?</p>
<p>We know of someone whose daughter went there (and it changed her life for the better). They said insurance wouldn’t cover it as mental health treatment but did eventually cover it as medical treatment. Still, if you do arrive at procedure codes and they show that mental procedures are being employed, how do you call it “medical” treatment?</p>
<p>We just have to get her to treatment, this seems like the very best place, but I don’t know how we are going to pay for it. If you have learned anything about how to do this, please let me know.</p>
<p>I’d begin with the insurance company. They contract with specific places at reduced fees. It is an enormous gamble to enter a program without knowing fees upfront, which can be $1000/diem.</p>
<p>As a professional in the psych field, I can tell you Menninger is considered one of the premier treatment centers. Very solid, respectable reputation.</p>
<p>A short update. In the past several months I’ve done quite a bit of research on BPD. I am by no means an expert but I know more now than I did back in March. Here’s what is what we’ve heard/learned first hand about RTP.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Menninger and McLean seem to be viewed as the TOP 2 in patient programs for BPD. Both seem to be now using a blend of both DBT and Mentalization therapies.</p></li>
<li><p>Both are very expensived (30K/month) or more.</p></li>
<li><p>Neither will work if the person with BDP isn’t committed to the treatment.</p></li>
<li><p>Intensive in patient treatment programmes may not always be the best course of action at that time for the person.</p></li>
<li><p>It isn’t worth the money if the money is going to break the bank. </p></li>
<li><p>The families, properly trained, are in as good, if not better position, to help their loved one learn new behaviours as the pricey treatment facilities.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>In the end, option 6 seems to be the route we are going this summer. Our daughter didn’t like the idea of being “trapped” in a program so far away from home, so that told us she wasnt ready for it. She may do a day program at Columbia University College Day program but that is still to be determined. What I do know is that if it isn’t her choice, it will not be beneficial no matter how impressived the reputation of the program is.</p>
<p>Also, below is a link to a website that has multiple recordings of recent professional conferences, including one at Yale in April 2011 where some of the folks from McLean were speakers as well as Alan Bateman, one of the co-developers of MBT.</p>