Gerard Academy

About the Facility

Located on 12 acres in rural Minnesota, Gerard Academy offers mental health and addiction services for children, adolescents, and families in Austin, Minnesota. They provide inpatient, dual diagnosis, and aftercare services for youth ages 6 to 18, including support for their families to cope with the challenges of mental health issues. The academy is licensed by the State of Minnesota and accepts private insurance and self pay.

Gerard Academy is located in a private, homey setting offering ample opportunities for outdoor recreation and relaxation. The campus features community gardens and comfortable common areas, as well as a state accredited K through 12 day school. The grounds are located adjacent to a nature preserve, and wildlife can frequently be seen on the center’s property.

The inpatient program is designed to help individuals achieve recovery through mental, emotional, and physical wellness. Children and their families receive trauma informed, CBT based individual, group, and family counseling. Evidence based complementary approaches like EMDR are available to support trauma recovery. Education and life skills development are also prioritized to support long term health and sobriety. Courses are offered in self care, coping, problem solving, communication, relapse prevention, and family and community reintegration.

When clients complete treatment, aftercare services provide ongoing support. This continuing care can include academic and vocational training and transitional support. Social services, medical and mental health, and addiction recovery referrals are also provided to facilitate clients’ successful reintegration into their home community.

Treatment

Mental Health

One of the main goals of inpatient rehab is the simultaneous treatment an addiction and co-occurring mental health disorders. Services usually include individual and group counseling and relapse prevention education. Other standard therapies can include coping skills training, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing, and family support groups. By offering a number of critical therapies under one roof, you have a greater chance of boosting overall mental health and achieving sustained recovery.

Insurance and Financial

Private insurance
Self-pay options

Programs

Adolescence program

Children program

Levels of Care

Inpatient

Residential treatment programs are those that offer housing and meals in addition to substance abuse treatment. Rehab facilities that offer residential treatment allow patients to focus solely on recovery, in an environment totally separate from their lives. Some rehab centers specialize in short-term residential treatment (a few days to a week or two), while others solely provide treatment on a long-term basis (several weeks to months). Some offer both, and tailor treatment to the patient's individual requirements.

Clinical Services

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a therapy modality that focuses on the relationship between one's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It is used to establish and allow for healthy responses to thoughts and feelings (instead of unhealthy responses, like using drugs or alcohol). CBT has been proven effective for recovering addicts of all kinds, and is used to strengthen a patient's own self-awareness and ability to self-regulate. CBT allows individuals to monitor their own emotional state, become more adept at communicating with others, and manage stress without needing to engage in substance abuse.

Couples Therapy

Whether a marriage or other committed relationship, an intimate partnership is one of the most important aspects of a person's life. Drug and alcohol addiction affects both members of a couple in deep and meaningful ways, as does rehab and recovery. Couples therapy and other couples-focused treatment programs are significant parts of exploring triggers of addiction, as well as learning how to build healthy patterns to support ongoing sobriety.

Family Therapy

Research clearly demonstrates that recovery is far more successful and sustainable when loved ones like family members participate in rehab and substance abuse treatment. Genetic factors may be at play when it comes to drug and alcohol addiction, as well as mental health issues. Family dynamics often play a critical role in addiction triggers, and if properly educated, family members can be a strong source of support when it comes to rehabilitation.

Group Therapy

Group therapy is any therapeutic work that happens in a group (not one-on-one). There are a number of different group therapy modalities, including support groups, experiential therapy, psycho-education, and more. Group therapy involves treatment as well as processing interaction between group members.

Individual Therapy

In individual therapy, a patient meets one-on-one with a trained psychologist or counselor. Therapy is a pivotal part of effective substance abuse treatment, as it often covers root causes of addiction, including challenges faced by the patient in their social, family, and work/school life.

Trauma Therapy

Trauma therapy addresses traumatic incidents from a client's past that are likely affecting their present-day experience. Trauma is often one of the primary triggers and potential causes of addiction, and can stem from child sexual abuse, domestic violence, having a parent with a mental illness, losing one or both parents at a young age, teenage or adult sexual assault, or any number of other factors. The purpose of trauma therapy is to allow a patient to process trauma and move through and past it, with the help of trained and compassionate mental health professionals.