The Hope & Resiliency Center for Youth

The Hope & Resiliency Center for Youth (the Center) is a clinic-based mental health program meeting at-risk adolescents’ unique mental health needs. The Center provides “step-down” treatment for adolescents discharged from inpatient or acute partial hospitalizations or “step-up” treatment when traditional outpatient services are not meeting the needs of an adolescent. The Hope & Resiliency Center for Youth offers a more structured level of intervention in both the frequency and the variety of services provided in traditional outpatient treatment. The Center offers a broad range of treatment services to meet the needs of adolescents and their families. This treat-ment setting allows adolescents to continue to attend their schools during the day and return to their homes in the evening while still receiving a high level of treatment, structure, and support.

Mission

The mission of the Hope & Resiliency Center for Youth is to reduce psychiatric issues and to improve the young person’s ability to function successfully at home, at school, and in the community. The goal is to initiate change promptly, principally through symptom assessment and individualized planning, interventions, and skill development.

Admission Process

Eligibility

Adolescents ages 13 to 17 with a DSM-V diagnosis or behavioral problems interfering with their ability to function optimally in family, school, or community settings are eligible. We consider children ages 11 to 12 years on a case-by-case basis.

Referrals/Information

Call the Access Center at 800.730.2762 extension 2 for more information or assistance with a referral. Referrals can be made by, but are not limited to, primary care providers, case managers, school personnel, and community agencies.

Evaluation and Assessment

Designed to serve as a comprehensive treatment center, the Hope & Resiliency Center for Youth offers a range of services to adolescents and their families. Before admission, a thorough evaluation occurs, focusing on psychiatric issues, emotional and social adjustment, family functioning, and school performance. We designed the Center treatment models to benefit most adolescents needing acute behavioral health interventions and supports.

The evaluation includes your child and family and needs to be completed at least seven days before your child’s admission. A licensed psychiatrist trained in adolescent treatment conducts your child’s admission assessment. The attending assesses psychiatric issues, substance use disorder, medical comorbidities, and other psychosocial factors so we can develop a treatment plan for your child.

Treatment Services

From the evaluation process, the treatment team, adolescent, and family collaborate on an individualized treatment plan. The treatment plan focuses on:

• Stabilization of the adolescent from 
the crisis leading to admission
• Medication evaluation and monitoring
• Developing individual and family 
problem-solving skills
• Identifying and changing negative behavior 
patterns through cognitive behavior therapies

The Hope & Resiliency Center for Youth provides group, individual, and family therapy for comprehensive treatment. The treatment team also offers psycho-educational skill groups, medication management and monitoring as part of our treatment services.

Staffing

The Hope & Resiliency Center for Youth uses a multi-disciplinary team approach to treatment. The team includes a medical director, program director, child psychiatrist, clinical nurse specialist, psychiatric social workers, and master-level specialty therapists.

Chief Psychiatrist – Ambulatory Psychiatry

Shahan Sibtain, MD, serves as Chief Psychiatrist Ambulatory Services and Associate Residency Program Director at Bergen New Bridge Medical Center, Paramus. He has experience in treating patients with a wide range of mental illnesses and firmly believes that relationship-centered care is an essential contributor to the patient’s healing process.

Attending Child Psychiatrist

Asad Hussain, MD,is a board-certified child, adolescent, adult psychiatrist who has extensive clinical experience with the autistic population, eating disorder population, and juvenile detention and corrections population. In addition, Dr. Hussain has served as medical director in inpatient and outpatient psychiatric settings. He attended medical school at Ross University Medical School and completed general psychiatry training at Delaware Psychiatric Center and our Psychiatric Resident Program. Dr. Hussain later completed a child and adolescent fellowship at the University of Texas health and science center of San Antonio and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical school. Dr. Hussain has published several articles in American psychiatric association journals, where he has achieved annual recognition for best-submitted journal articles.

Program Director

Darian Eletto is a dual-licensed clinician as well as a nationally certified counselor. Her professional experience at the Medical Center allows her to develop and implement many programs and services within the Acute Partial Hospitalization Program and the LGBTQ+ Health and Wellness Center. Darian has extensive experience in working with crisis management and dual diagnosis patients. Darian has her Master’s Degree in Professional Mental Health Counseling and is a licensed professional counselor and licensed clinical alcohol and drug counselor.