TREATMENT PHILOSOPHY

At ASANTE, our team of expert clinicians is focused on aligning clients’ cognitive, psychological, and social wellbeing. Our programs provide integrative, evidence-based treatment for children and adults struggling with mental health issues.

PRACTICAL RECOVERY

PRACTICAL RECOVERY HELPS CLIENTS NOT ONLY ACHIEVE SYMPTOM REDUCTION BUT EQUALLY ACHIEVE AN OVERALL SENSE OF IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE.

Current studies reveal that evidence-based treatment must incorporate techniques for clients to discover ways that increase their sense of joy, fulfillment, meaning, and purpose through personal relationships in various settings such as home, work, or school.

ASANTE addresses social anxiety, low self-esteem, lack of healthy risk-taking, fear of failure, and fear of change within PRACTICAL Recovery programming. The daily structure is designed to parallel the natural rises and falls of energy clients experience to increase stamina when faced with emotional stressors.

RECOVERY MODEL GOALS

• To help clients discover connections and passion beyond symptom reduction and maintenance.
• To help clients build self-efficacy and self-esteem that values deeper meaning within their relationships and environments.

TREATMENT PHILOSOPHY:

To provide thoughtful, collaborative, comprehensive, integrative, + evidence-based treatment for children and adults struggling with mental health issues. The treatment of mental health symptoms cannot be a “one size fits all” approach. We hand-tailor treatment to address individual needs and symptoms. We have a core belief that our client’s quality of life must improve in addition to the remission of psychiatric symptoms. Therefore, our community-based program is designed explicitly for PRACTICAL Recovery, Social Recovery, and Mind + Body Wellness. Most importantly, our philosophy prioritizes a healing environment free of stigma, judgment, and shame.

TREATMENT PRINCIPLES

• We believe in the dignity and worth of clients as well as their right to self-determination.
• We honor and respect each individual’s uniqueness (culture, religion, sexual orientation, and social/economic background).
• We utilize strength-based treatment modalities and approaches designed to change the treatment focus from deficits, problems, and pathology to strengths and positive factors likely to resolve the presenting issue while recognizing each person has their own set of strengths and difficulties.
• We actively engage each person in developing an individualized treatment plan that is culturally relevant.

PRIMARY TREATMENT MODALITY

Our clinicians utilize different treatment modalities to combine two very effective treatment targets:

• COGNITION – highlights those specific thinking patterns, which can cause various symptoms to give a distorted picture of reality in one’s life and possibly make them feel anxious, depressed, or angry or provoke a person into making poor choices, and
• BEHAVIOR – directs a client toward identifying and utilizing healthy coping skills, e.g., communication and problem-solving techniques.

Our treatment modality is primarily Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT is based on the notion that our thoughts cause our feelings and behaviors, not external things like people, situations, and events. The benefit of the CBT modality is that we can change how we think to feel/act differently, even if the problem does not change. Appropriately used, CBT aims to influence days practical emotions, behaviors, and thoughts. Our clinicians address many psychosocial issues in the individual, group, and self-help settings using CBT in a systematic goal-oriented treatment process. Other multiple therapeutic approaches have CBT as the theoretical foundation, including but not limited to Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, Rational Behavior Therapy, Rational Living Therapy, and Dialectic Behavior Therapy.

THE CBT TREATMENT MODALITY

• COGNITIVE MODEL /EMOTIONAL RESPONSE – based on the idea that our thoughts cause our feelings and behaviors, not external situations or events. Therefore, the treatment goal is to change how the client thinks, feels, or acts even if the client’s situation or event does not change.
• BRIEF AND TIME-LIMITED SESSIONS – clients, understand that therapy is not an open-ended, never-ending process at the very beginning of the therapy process. The Clinician and the client decide to end the treatment.
• BUILDING GOOD THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIPS – The Clinician aims to build a trusting relationship with their client to create a climate for change. The client may then focus on learning the skills
• COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE CLINICIAN AND THE CLIENT – The Clinician seeks to learn what the client wants out of life (their goals) and then help them achieve those goals. The Clinician listens, teaches, and encourages, while the client learns to express concerns and implement what they have learned.
• NOT TELLING THE CLIENT HOW THEY SHOULD FEEL – most clients seek therapy because they do not want to feel the way they think. The Clinician teaches the client how to accept and process the experience more calmly. This may put the client in a better position to use their intelligence, knowledge, energy, and resources to resolve their problem.
• USE OF THE SOCRATIC METHOD – The Clinician aims to understand the client’s concerns. The Clinician asks many questions and encourages the client to ask questions, like, “How do I know that those people are laughing at me?” “Could they be laughing about something else?”
• STRUCTURED/DIRECTIVE INTERACTIONS – The Clinician does not tell the client what to do; instead, they teach their client how to do it.
• TEACHING MODELS – The Clinician believes the client understands how and why they are doing well; and that the client will know what to do to continue doing well.
• INDUCTIVE PRACTICES – The Clinician encourages the client to examine their thoughts as hypotheses or guesses that can be questioned and tested. If the assumptions are incorrect (because we have new information), then the solution can be aligned with how things are/
• HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS. Goal achievement (if obtained) can take a very long time if the person only thinks about the techniques and topics taught in the one-hour session per week.

How much change can happen in twelve (12) or event Twenty-four (24) hours? That is why the Clinicians assign reading and other assignments and encourage clients to practice the techniques learned.

OUR PHILOSOPHY

TREATMENT SUPPORTS

SYMPTOM REMISSION – The first step in meaningful recovery from any mental health challenge is symptom remission. At ASANTE, symptom remission is accomplished by combining individual and group psychotherapy and therapeutic psychoeducational/ community activities. Some individuals may require medication on a long-term basis, while others may not need a prescription at all. Our goal is to provide referrals as is necessary for those needing appropriate medication management.

PRACTICAL RECOVERY – Our commitment goes beyond symptom remission to enhanced wellbeing. We empower clients to cultivate a sense of meaning, purpose, and joy in their lives. We want them to leave with the foundation necessary to build and live a purpose-driven life.

SUSTAINED WELLNESS – An individual’s time at ASANTE lays an initial solid foundation for learning essential tools and practices to support mental health. We also believe in helping our clients develop the skills needed to sustain their wellbeing over time.

CONNECTION TO COMMUNITY + SERVICE – We believe that an essential part of wellness includes actively connecting and serving the communities that surround you. Our philosophy is one of outreach, public service, education, and supporting underserved populations.

BEST PRACTICE – Best practice begins with evidence-based care. ASANTE also actively connects with leading organizations and mental health experts to bring together the best resources for all treatment needs. We individualize each treatment plan by matching every client with the Clinician best equipped to address their needs.