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Walking inside Redwood City’s newest teen mental health treatment facility, it is hard to believe it is a clinic. The transformation of a residential house into this facility aims to create a home-like environment for its patients.
On Wednesday, Feb. 21, Lightfully Behavioral Health, a Southern California-based clinic, opened its doors at in Redwood City to a few live-in patients aged 12 to 17. A continuous waitlist prompted the newly added location and previous patients traveling from the greater Bay Area, Nicole Siegfried, Ph.D., Lightfully’s chief clinical officer, said.
“We wanted to be a solution to break the cycle of the revolving door that leads back to the hospital for people who are struggling with mental health,” Siegfried said.
The clinic, founded in 2021, aims to address trauma-related, personality, anxiety and mood disorders that appeared to be a missing link for people who were experiencing mental health emergencies unrelated to eating and substance abuse disorders, according to its website.
The dandelion-colored sofas and carefully decorated bedrooms accented in pastel colors that lead to spiraling wrought iron staircases inside the Residential Treatment Center move away from clinical settings to create a more inviting, safe, and warm environment for patients, Siegfried said.
More than 7 million youths, or 16.5% of children ages six to 17, experienced a mental health disorder in 2016, and only half of those affected received treatment. Additionally, suicide is the second most common cause of death among people aged 10 to 14, according to National Alliance on Mental Illness.
For many of these teens, finding treatment for mental health disorders not associated with substance abuse can be challenging. Siegfried said the clinic opened to bridge that gap.
The Redwood City Residential Treatment Center (or RTC) will provide live-in space for up to six patients. It has 24-hour care from a psychiatrist team providing singular and group therapy sessions that equates to around four sessions a week. Siegfried said the sessions focus on learning ways to cope with emotions, interact with their thoughts, and give intrusive thoughts less weight by not acting on them.
With an in-house chef and home-school center inside the facility, the average patient spends around 30 days at the treatment center before returning home. While the clinic offers programs for adults suffering from varying disorders, the day and outpatient programs treat patients at the San Jose facility.
Admission Process
Those interested to hear if Lightfully’s services are right for them can contact the administration team through the clinic’s website.
“The client and parents would do an over-the-phone assessment to get a better picture of the needs so we can match the best treatment to their needs,” Siegfried said.
From there, clients would check in with their insurance coverage to see if they are covered. For individuals paying out-of-pocket, the cost is around $1,300 per day, according to Siegfried.
Within about 48 hours, clients can expect to have an admission date scheduled if deemed necessary.
“We want to get clients into treatment quickly,” Siegfried said.
Once the residential treatment concludes, the doctors will help youth patients slowly integrate into their lives.
“There is a large focus on family inclusion and making adjustments as they arise,” Siegfried said.
Visit Lightfully’s website for more information.
