Support for complex needs

Clinical

Providing Structured Treatment

The Wediko School offers a highly structured residential treatment program for students with complex mental health needs, for whom community-based resources have not been enough to support success at home and school.

Milieu Therapy

Wediko’s therapeutic milieu is the primary intervention. The core of the milieu is Wediko’s 1:3 ratio of clinicians, teachers, and staff who develop strong relationships with each student, focus on the student’s strengths, and use positive behavioral interventions in the moment to teach and reinforce prosocial skills and coping strategies. In contrast to traditional individual therapy, which pulls students out of the milieu, Wediko’s milieu therapy model pushes clinicians into the environment to be present and work directly with the students in the midst of their everyday lives. Difficult interactions can be paused, reflected upon, and reworked in the moment, and successes can be captured and celebrated as they occur.

Daily Group Therapy

Wediko School’s residential students participate in daily group therapy with dorm-mates led by the Dorm Clinican. Group therapy helps students set reasonable personal and social goals, develop strategies to achieve those goals, hold each other accountable, and validate achievements. In the process, students develop a myriad of skills for group interaction, communication, problem-solving, self-regulation, and perspective taking. As a result, students benefit from building honest, trusting, and reciprocal relationships that meet their needs and those of others.

wediko magic

Weekly Family Therapy

Weekly family therapy helps bring relevant long-term themes into the students’ daily work, ensuring that gains made at Wediko have the best chance of generalizing at home. Family therapy sessions are tailored to the family and student’s individual needs and, therefore, draw on a range of intervention models, such as coaching, psycho-education or family systems models. Most sessions occur by phone and video conferencing.

Group Interaction

Communication

Problem-Solving

Self-Regulation

Perspective

Individualized Therapeutic Supports

Additional supports are available depending on student’s individual needs, including:

Betsy Oswalt, M.Ed.

Co-Director

As one of Wediko’s Co-Directors, Betsy maintains responsibility for the Residential Program, with overarching responsibility for all programming and campus operations. Betsy also manages Wediko’s relationships with our state partners at DCYF and leads the Facility Dog Program as a certified handler for Iden, our facility dog who provides therapeutic support to the students and staff on campus. Previously to serving as Co-Director, Betsy has worked in a variety of roles, including Dorm Clinician, Weekend Program Manager and Residential Director. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education from Plymouth State University and a Master of Education in school counseling from Keene State College.