Assessment
Part of our mission at True North is to provide a comprehensive clinical assessment to inform continuing care and ongoing therapeutic goals after True North. This assessment process is integrated throughout a teen or a young adult’s stay and includes collaboration with program staff, parents/guardians, and outside professionals.
The wilderness is a dynamic milieu that offers an opportunity to observe and understand how students function in therapeutic, experiential, academic, social, and emotional contexts as well as how their experiences shift and change over time in our program. Families can expect a comprehensive assessment and clear recommendations for supporting their child’s continued success after graduation from True North.
Psychological, neuropsychological, and educational assessments can also be administered here at True North by trusted consulting psychologists to further inform a student’s social, emotional, academic and psychological well-being. We work together with parents and referring professionals to determine the need for additional assessment as well as assisting with selecting the best professional evaluator and managing the scheduling and logistics.
While we are not a psychiatric or medical program, we routinely consult with psychiatrists to assess and address the pharmacological needs of our students. Course leaders work closely with home psychiatrists or with our Medical Director, Dr. Melissa Dubroff. Based on the recommendation of the course leader and the preference of students and their parents, students may meet with their previous prescribing physicians via video or phone conferencing or with Dr. Dubroff in person to consider medication adjustments that may be appropriate.