Midwest Center for Youth & Families staff guides youth recovery through structured therapy

Midwest Center for Youth & Families provides a highly structured environment for children navigating mental health challenges. Daily life blends rigorous therapy with essential childhood skills, led by a dedicated staff, to help children stabilize, catch up on school and learn practical skills to help them thrive at home.  

“Mental health is the same as physical health, and we need to reduce stigma – treating the mind the same way we treat any other organ in the body,” said Kevin Zwiers, director of business development. “This is hard, taxing work, so every person who comes to our door must know their ‘why’—their motivator—to interact with these kids on a daily basis.” 

The center fields an integrated team of nurses, direct care staff, teachers, specialized therapists and psychiatric professionals. The team uniformly applies the dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) modality in all daily activities from school to recreational therapy. The goal of DBT is to create a consistent, reliable structure for every resident while focusing on individual goals and personalized treatment plans.  

“Our direct care staff are with the kids the majority of the time, coaching them all day on DBT,” said Samantha Webster, nurse-on-the-floor. “Our nurses are in and out of units and classrooms, trying to catch our kids up on medical appointments. Our psychiatrist is here two to three days per week. Every department works as a team, so we can give them the best care they deserve.” 

A typical day starts with breakfast, along with hygiene, goals and unit chores, followed by medication administration. Residents attend the center’s Cognia-accredited school, Midwest Academy, for credit recovery, where staff coach DBT skills and lead Goals Group sessions to set daily objectives. Afternoons feature recreational therapy and educational groups, including specialized nursing classes on health topics, for example. Structured meals and activities, such as gym, team-building and art projects, help children build essential coping skills and have fun before bedtime. 

“We do different things throughout the week with our individual units,” Webster said. “We have pet therapy once a month, a petting zoo that comes weekly through Rivers Edge Homestead, and on weekends we have a music therapist. We try to make it as fun, engaging and kid-friendly as we can because we know they are doing the hard work. We are also trying to make sure that they can just be kids, too.”

The center tailors care through individualized treatment and educational plans for every resident. Children live in five separate units, separated by age and gender, and advance through a color-coded level system. This system creates healthy competition, motivating residents. Progress grants increased privileges, such as off-site outings like going to Fair Oaks Farms, Indiana Dunes National Park, and County Line Orchard. These activities ensure each child receives support best suited for their recovery. 

“We try to incorporate things that are in their normal lives as they reach higher levels,” Webster said. “This allows us to reintroduce those things gradually so it’s not such a shock when they get home.” 

The center fosters its mission by discussing the collective motivator with every new employee, ensuring staff members work there for the right reasons. Ultimately, the most profound measure of the team’s success comes from former residents. The staff continues to receive calls and letters years later from individuals saying that the center saved their lives.  

“As one new employee said, ‘I want to be the adult that I needed as a kid growing up,’” Webster said. “That is literally what we are all doing here.” 

For more information about services and the mission of Midwest Center for Youth & Families, visit midwest-center.com.