The Visions Program

"When I first got here I was acting like a little kid. Now I am acting like an adult."

-Paul, Visions ClientAt Youth Progress Association we believe in tailoring a young person’s treatment to make it as individual as possible. This is especially important when working with younger clients or with youth who have not yet developed the aptitude for abstract thought. To address this, Youth Progress Association developed the Visions Program, one of Youth Progress Association’s day services programs. Clients attend groups and appointments at the Visions office during the day and spend evenings and weekends in proctor homes. The program’s mission is to facilitate youth and their families as they make life choices in addition to developing adult relationships with their families. Our goal is to provide youth with a safe, structured environment where they are provided with appropriate treatment and can practice becoming productive citizens.

Youth

Youth in the Visions Program are referred from Oregon Youth Authority or the Department of Human Services. They range in age from 15-21 years old. Many youth in the Visions Program are lower functioning (those with an IQ of 80 or below) or require extra supervision. These youth generally struggle with abstract thinking and need individualized treatment.

Treatment

Youth in the Visions Program enter the agency with a variety of mental health and/or community safety issues. To address these issues Youth Progress Association staff uses evidence-based, therapeutic approaches when working with these youth, as well as offering counselors that specialize in specific treatment areas. Visions is unique because of the use of intensive, individualized behavior modification and the team approach of the staff.

Staff in the Visions Program have become adept at using therapeutic methods to assist clients as they modify their behaviors. Program staff combine traditional Behavior Modification methods with Evidence-Based practices such as Skillstreaming and Motivational Interviewing. Although the methods are generally initially met with resistance, the program has developed a track record of producing youth who are able to regulate their own behaviors and to find internal motivation for change. In the past, youth have gone from not wanting to examine their own behaviors at all to taking the initiative to identify their own target behaviors and developing a system to track their progress.