What Are the Functions for a Residential Mental Health Facility?

Residential mental health treatment offers a wide array of care that would not otherwise be available to the person in treatment. Understanding the various functions of residential treatment will help practitioners and clients better know how treatment is beneficial.

Supervision

• Residential treatment, whether for adults or children, offers 24 hour awake supervision. This is important in maintaining the safety and well-being of the residents.

Behavior Modification

• Residential treatment is an extreme measure as it means sending a person away from home. By having clients live at the facility, it allows for consistent rules and expectations to be set up to establish behavior modification.

Treatment Needs

• Residential treatment offers the ability for staff to communicate with one another on whether the residents are doing well. Since reporting is not left up to the client like outpatient treatment, more treatment issues and needs can be addressed.

Safety

• People in residential treatment have severe behavioral or emotional problems. They are often not safe and make poor choices. Having several staff around at all times helps maintain the client's safety.

Array of Services

• In residential treatment, clients receive a wide array of services such as individual, group, and family therapy, education, vocational training, and behavior modification. A client in outpatient therapy does not necessarily have access to all these resources.