Midwest Center for Youth and Families provides young people living with complex mental illnesses the support and care they need to thrive and lead fulfilling lives. Midwest Center’s secure residential facility in Kouts caters to males aged 12 to 18 and females aged 10 to 18, while its secure residential facility in Valparaiso cares for females aged 12 to 18. Midwest Center specializes in full immersion dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), a method that helps the residents develop their mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness skills.
Midwest Center employs five other types of therapy in its treatment: art therapy, music therapy, equine therapy, pet therapy, and recreational, or rec, therapy. Cara Nebel, recreational therapist at Midwest Center, believes this multi-faceted approach to therapy makes Midwest Center uniquely suited to caring for the Region’s youth.
“The fact that Midwest Center offers several forms of therapy is beneficial because no single form works for everyone,” Nebel said. “We’re humans, not robots, so it’s very important for us to explore the various ways we can express ourselves therapeutically. At Midwest Center, we pay close attention to the positive and negative responses our patients have to the therapy styles we employ. I’ve seen that, when I alter the therapy styles according to patient preferences, the therapy becomes more effective. The kids are fully engaged, they laugh, and they share positive feedback with their peers and the staff.”
When designing rec therapy activities, Nebel helps the residents socialize, keep active, and, of course, have fun. She created a space-themed version of capture-the-flag called Astronauts vs. Aliens that has long been a favorite among the residents. Nebel also tries to create games that appeal to the residents’ interests while keeping them active. Many of the kids played the social deduction mobile game Among Us during COVID-19, so Nebel drew inspiration from it to create the playground game Impostor.
According to Nebel, rec therapy can take a variety of forms.
“Rec therapy is a way to cultivate a life worth living through the use of one’s leisure time,” Nebel said. “It can take the form of whatever the practitioner considers recreation or a leisure activity; reading, putting puzzles together, running, sewing, knitting, or even walking the dog can all be forms of rec therapy. Although they have their own distinctive elements, the other four forms of therapy we employ here can fall under the umbrella of rec therapy. I incorporate both physical and non-physical activities in my rec therapy. Fortunately, I have a lot of freedom to create different games and activities, so if I think something will be fun, I’ll implement it and see what the kids think.”
Nebel has also led the residents in music therapy exercises, from teaching them the “Cup Song” from the film “Pitch Perfect” to letting them make music by striking chairs with pool noodles. A music therapist makes frequent visits to Midwest Center and has taught the students how to express their emotions by playing instruments like the ukulele and the recorder. Such practices promote tension reduction among the residents in much the same way that verbalization and physical activity do. This form of therapy has the added benefit of teaching the residents about a variety of music genres and musical instruments.
For the equine therapy aspect of its treatment, Midwest Center has partnered with Anam Cara Stables, a La Porte-based equine therapy organization. Nebel has seen just how effective equine therapy truly is during her time at Midwest Center.
“There are several benefits to horse therapy,” Nebel said.“ The kids bond with each other as they work together in the stable. Sometimes, we’ll have them participate in a team building activity where they have to bring a horse from one area to another, but they are not allowed to use any verbal cues. They also bond with the horses as they pet and brush them. Horses are very sensitive to emotions, so this bonding process is also intended to offer teaching opportunities. For instance, we might ask one of the kids, ‘Did you notice that the horse seemed standoffish in this situation? How can you relate this to your interactions with people?’”
Horses aren’t the only animals that Midwest Center residents get to work with, however. Every other weekend, therapy dogs are brought in to interact with the kids. Not only do the residents play with the dogs, but they also get to learn about different dog breeds and the day-to-day therapeutic benefits that dogs offer. The residents also make occasional field trips to the Region Cat Café in Merrillville where they play with the cats and work on guided art projects. Midwest Center helps its residents explore different forms of art therapy at its facilities as well.
“You can take many different approaches to art therapy,” Nebel said. “We experiment with many different kinds of artwork in-house. The kids paint pictures, do mindful coloring, and draw Zentangles, which use a variety of shapes and lines to create complex patterns, or ‘tangles.’ The kids also make clay artwork, oil pastel sketches, and do origami, all with a therapeutic focus. I also put on an annual art exhibit every year so the kids have a chance to have their art displayed.”
Midwest Center offers its residents a welcoming and understanding space in which they can experiment with an extensive amount of therapy options and discover which of these work best for them. As they engage in their preferred forms of therapy, they move ever closer to leading the fulfilled and happy lives they deserve. Please visit midwest-center.com for more information about Midwest Center for Youth and Families and the services it offers.
