Lighthouse Youth Program

9014 S. Central Avenue, Phoenix AZ 85042

The Lighthouse Program is designed as an intensive outpatient program for teenagers from 12 to 17 years of age of moderate to high risk for disruptive behavioral disorders, mood disorders, and substance abuse/dependency.

All youth are assigned a primary therapist who takes the lead on individual counseling, family counseling, and multi-disciplinary team meetings. However, each teenager also works with the entire staff of the Lighthouse Clinical team through individual check-ins and specialized group sessions in the following topic areas:

Group Sessions

Group Sessions are conducted Monday through Friday form the evening hours of 4 to 5:30 p.m. and 7 to 7:30 p.m. Placement in groups are subject to the individual needs, readiness, and availability of each youth.

Orientation

The purpose of this educational group is to provide new community members with an introduction to the Lighthouse community and orientation to the program basic principles and expectations. It also allows new Lighthouse community members to interact with "senior youth mentors" to build an awareness of the program and foster positive youth to youth relationships.

Substance Abuse

The purpose of this educational group is to increase knowledge of drugs, the impact of drugs, and encourage an understanding of the hard facts about the natural consequences of drug use and involvement in the drug culture.

Courage Groups

Due to the disproportion history of abuse and trauma characteristic of the high risk youth population, opportunities to explore and reconcile unresolved emotional conflicts in a physically and emotionally safe environment is critical. "Trauma Informed Practices" are utilized to assist youth in finding the courage to face primary and residual influence of adverse and abusive childhood experiences.

Emotions

The purpose of this educational group is to learn about the source and purpose of emotions, to accurately recognize emotional states and to address the use of "functional hostility and apathy" where anger is strategically used to mask vulnerability, insecurity, fear, and hurt.

Boys Discussion

The purpose of this educational group is to provide girls and boys with separate forums to explore some of the more sensitive areas of personal development and growth. Healthy Interpersonal relationship patterns are explored including healthy dating and preventative insight into relationship violence.

Expressive Arts

The use of creative expression and art allows youth to increase positive motivation and confidence. This includes examining the influence of music, arts, and social media on self image and interpersonal relationships.

Healthy Thinking

The purpose of this educational group is to develop critical thinking skills required for sound decision-making. Anticipation of consequences allows for the possibility of seeing more options and avoiding, escaping or coping effectively with high risk circumstances.

Leadership

The purpose of this group is to provide a forum where youth can discuss how they are perceived, how they perceive others and the impact they have on each other which is critical in this stage of peer oriented development.

Parent Discussion

The focus of parent groups is to provide a forum for parents to learn about program methods and challenges currently in place, and to develop partnerships with parents in reconstituting relationships with their teenage sons and daughters. In being informed about what their children are learning, parents are concurrently provided with parallel knowledge and skills which serve to reduce their own emotional reactivity and improve their ability to reinforce what their children are learning and improving their ability to handle conflicts in the home more effectively.

Girls Discussion

Lighthouse Teen Community Meetings

This is a monthly gathering of our youths to address:

Relationships in the youth community
Specific problems common to community members
Develop a sense of collective identity, in effort to sup-port each other’s life challenges

Lighthouse Parents Discussion Group

This is a monthly meeting of parents/guardians of Lighthouse teenagers that provide a forum to:

Understand the common challenges confronting parents of high-risk teenagers
Opportunity to learn and benefit, practice, while supporting basic program lessons and strategies
Provides parents/guardians an opportunity to inquire as to the progress of their teenagers
Incorporates discussion adjustments in communication and interaction patterns with their teenagers