The Yellowbrick Model

Yellowbrick operates from a research-based care model that combines the most current contributions of neuroscience, innovative psychotherapies, strength-based rehabilitation strategies and wellness medicine. Guided by skilled, experienced and compassionate professionals who are dedicated to accountability and outcome, Yellowbrick offers programming to address the unique developmental needs of these emerging adults.

Emerging Adult Assessment Center

In speaking with emerging adults and their families, we find that most have many unanswered questions and missing pieces in their understanding of what is wrong and what would truly help. We recognize that emerging adults can have complex concerns involving who they are and what motivates their choices and actions, how they feel about their bodies, their place and purpose in the world and how to connect with others. These struggles can be overwhelming and difficult to integrate.

We collaborate with emerging adults and their families to bring together diverse sources of information into a coherent whole that instrumentally guides decisions and future plans. Senior clinicians facilitate a creative and interactive process that identifies factors contributing to the origins and maintenance of mental illness. Our assessment methods help emerging adults to define personal limitations, choices and behaviors that put their progress and development at risk. Most importantly, the evaluation elicits strengths, talents and areas of authentic motivation that fuel the momentum for change.

Yellowbrick’s assessment and consultation process defines the core strengths and struggles integral to a realistic vision of an authentic life plan.  We offer two levels of assessment:

1. Comprehensive:  A comprehensive assessment is a full three-day process involving in-depth interviews, neuropsychological and psychological testing, psychiatric evaluation, education and career analysis and family participation, as well as behavioral, motivational, social, self-psychological and neurobiological analysis.
   
   
2. Focused:  The one-day focused assessment is also very rigorous but is specifically focused on key issues previously identified in the young person’s life; for example, a recent-onset eating disorder without concurrent drug or alcohol abuse or other self-injurious behavior.

The entire consulting team meets with the emerging adult and his or her family to discuss findings and specific courses of action. We provide a useful written report of our findings, integrating previous evaluations and including specific recommendations for treatment. More broadly, discussion shapes a strategic life plan as to what will be needed to help launch the emergent adult onto a fulfilling and successful life path.

The Yellowbrick Assessment

“Yellowbrick’s senior clinicians have created an unparalleled, comprehensive and integrated assessment process that provides meaningful understanding and practical guidance.”

-Prudence Gourguechon, MD
President, American Psychoanalytic Association

• Motivational assessment and capacity to currently make use of treatment
• Psychiatric evaluation and psychopharmacology treatment review
• Psychotherapy consultation
• Neuropsychological and personality testing
• Neuro-biological markers evaluation
• Family history and relationship consultation
• Functional life-skills assessment
• Educational and vocational assessment (prescribed
• Specialized learning disability consultation (prescribed)
• Registered dietician consultation (prescribed)
• Physical activity/exercise and wellness assessment (prescribed)
• Specialty services consultation (eating disorders, substance abuse, etc., prescribed)
• Medical and laboratory examination (prescribed)
• Neurological imaging studies (prescribed)

Once a customized understanding and framework has been developed, Yellowbrick ensures communication, linkage and follow-up whether treatment is to occur within Yellowbrick programs or referral elsewhere across the nation. A practical, useful report summarizing significant findings and recommendations is provided verbally in a family conference at the conclusion of the assessment consultation with a written report to follow

Yellowbrick Programs

The Residence

Supported Apartment Services

Consultation & Treatment Center

The Residence

A small yet significant number of emerging adults require a residential setting where they can center and mobilize existing but latent strengths, and work towards developing self-agency, self-coherence and self-regulation. Yellowbrick Residence offers these individuals a context for personal growth by challenging them with the tasks of independent living while providing expert support with intensive resources beyond those available in most inpatient hospital settings.

The Yellowbrick Residence provides a meaningful and pragmatically effective psychotherapeutic treatment for those emerging adults who require a skilled, supportive yet independent living platform. This environment and the professionals who provide life-skills intervention allows for an anchoring context for personal growth. The four-flat apartment building accommodates fifteen residents.

Located on Sheridan Road, the Yellowbrick Residence is one block from Lake Michigan in the City of Evanston on Chicago’s North Shore. Evanston is a vibrant and diverse community with a population of 75,000 and is comprised of strong and active neighborhoods, thriving commercial and retail businesses and restaurants.  It is also home to many young adults including students at Northwestern and Loyola Universities. A supported living experience with peers in a suburban apartment is combined with an intensive (40+ hours/ week) psychotherapy and activity program through the Yellowbrick Consultation & Treatment Center. Within this setting, individuals address and take responsibility for their lives: past, present, and future.

Membership in the Yellowbrick Residence community is a responsibility and a privilege. Our community of emerging adult peers, professionals and families was originally conceived as a supportive, not supervisory, resource. Therefore, prospective residents must demonstrate the motivation and capacity to make use of the relationships and other available resources available.  They must show the commitment to take responsibility for their personal safety and a determination to learn how to ask for and accept help when they need it most.

For a more detailed explanation of The Residence click here.

We invite you to take The Residence Video Tour.

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Supported Apartment Services

Yellowbrick provides two levels of Supported Apartment Services for emerging adults.  An apartment adjacent to The Residence is available for those emerging adults who continue to function best with continuous availability of resource staff but who do not require a full-time treatment program. Yellowbrick also provides in-home support services to emerging adults living in geographic proximity within Evanston. Staff includes an occupational therapist, registered dietician, nurse, social worker or resource staff to accompany the emerging adult as they pursue challenging activities in the community.  This includes grocery shopping for an individual struggling with an eating disorder or getting to school or work on time for someone who has difficulty with self-organization or self-motivation. The specific tasks and frequency of Supported Apartment Services is individualized.

Supported Apartment Services meet the diverse needs among varied groups of emerging adults. It is an optimal choice for many emerging adults transitioning from The Residence, inpatient or rehabilitation settings. Certain emerging adult college students who can neither live on-campus, nor in an independent apartment, find that Supported Apartment Services allows them to safely and effectively sustain themselves, both personally and academically. Emerging adults with autism-spectrum disorders, or significant non-verbal learning disabilities are often able to achieve a higher level of independent functioning with Supported Apartment Services.

Supported Apartment Services provide a prescribed level of staff availability, membership within a community of peers and groups which support life skills, interpersonal connections and educational or career goals. Each emerging adult works with an Advocate who coordinates planning and communication while providing coaching for problem solving and skill development, as well as an education and career specialist who addresses work and academic needs.

Emerging adults within the Supported Apartment Service are also eligible for participation in the many recreational and creative therapeutic activities within Yellowbrick such as the art studio, health club membership, movie discussion night, community dinner and brunch and “wilderness” outings. Professional services such as psychotherapy or psychopharmacology management are provided on a fee-for-service basis at the Yellowbrick Consultation & Treatment Center. Emerging adults within Supported Apartment Services are expected to maintain a level of functioning, which includes ten hours of productive activity a week such as school, work or volunteering in the Evanston community. A six-month commitment is required for admission unless the emerging adult is transitioning from The Residence.

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Consultation & Treatment Center

Yellowbrick’s Consultation & Treatment Center offers specialized resources for emerging adults who are in need of in-depth psychotherapy and life-skill development on an outpatient basis to ensure a successful transition into adulthood.

Several levels of programming are provided:

1. Life Strategies Program
   
2. Life Strategies (Prescribed)
3. Interpersonal Group Therapy
4. Eating Disorders Service
5. Substance Abuse Service
6. Trauma & Abuse Group Therapy
7. Individual & Parent Couple and/or Family Psychotherapy
8. Education & Career Services
9. Yellowbrick Treatment Advocate Service

I. Life Strategies Program: (9:30 AM – 2:00 PM)

Neuroscience research guides the pattern, rhythm and content of Yellowbrick programming. Attention is paid to developing normal nutrition and sleep patterns. Early morning interventions consist of individual support for developing effective self-organizational skills and patterns. Initial groups are designed for introducing gradual arousal, mind-body integration and a structured goal-oriented cognitive approach to the day. As the day proceeds, groups and interventions become more interpersonally and emotionally intense. Later there are opportunities to process and metabolize emotions and understand their personal meaning. The program day ends with a self-centering exercise.

All emerging adults within The Residence participate in the Life Strategies Program and are joined with outpatients living in the community. There are prescriptive modules of programming based upon functional skills level, information processing patterns, groupings of shared history or symptoms, etc.

Click for a copy of the Life Strategies Program Group Descriptions.

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II. Life Strategies Program: Prescribed 

As outpatients make progress in their treatment and have increasing commitments and responsibilities for school and/or work in the community, Yellowbrick provides the option of an individually tailored participation in the Life Strategies Program. To be eligible for this level of care, the emerging adult must commit to a minimum of ten hours a week of group treatment.

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III. Interpersonal Group Therapy

Emerging adults who have been in the Life Strategies Program may be recommended to continue solely in the three times per week interpersonal
group therapy.

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IV. Eating Disorders Service

Emerging adults with anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder may participate in a full range of services including:

• Eating Disorder(s) Assessment
• Medical and Laboratory Assessment
• Psychiatric and Dual Diagnosis Assessment
• Psychopharmacology Treatment as indicated
• Registered Dietician Assessment and Management
• Group Program: 3½ hours of experiential, cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal therapy
• Individual Psychotherapy
• Parents as Partners Weekend
• Parent and/or Family Psychotherapy as indicated
• Weight Monitoring
• Staff Supported Meals
• Staff Supported Community Activities:  grocery shopping, cooking, restaurant dining
• Activity and Exercise Consultation, Treatment Plan and Coaching

Click here for a full description of the model and philosophy of the Yellowbrick Eating Disorders Service.

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V. Substance Abuse Service

Yellowbrick addresses substance use within the context of an open setting in the Evanston community where choices to continue using substances are readily present. Therefore, we accept for treatment those individuals who acknowledge their addiction and demonstrate a commitment to recovery despite continued struggles with maintaining abstinence.

Yellowbrick provides a thorough substance abuse evaluation, which is integrated into the psychiatric and psychological assessment for determining an individualized strategic approach to treatment. Emerging adults participate in specialized substance abuse programming as well as receive individualized case management and counseling. Additional aspects of the Yellowbrick Life Strategies Program assist in the development of skills for self-regulation and distress tolerance, which are relevant to a successful recovery. Yellowbrick conducts prescribed and random breathalyzer or urine toxicology screenings as a support for all emerging adults in our programs. Involvement in community 12-Step programs is strongly supported with staff accompaniment if necessary. Sponsorship in the Evanston community is encouraged.

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VI. Trauma & Abuse Group Therapy

This group is for individuals who have experienced early interpersonal trauma. Within the context of the latest neurobiological understanding of trauma and traumatic attachments, the impact of trauma on the body and the psychology of mindfulness, this group focuses on how trauma influences one’s self and interpersonal relationships in the present. Based upon the research of trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk, this group adheres to an interpersonal process format with the addition of techniques for managing sensor motor aspects of traumatic memory. The group is prescriptive, meets once weekly, and is open to new members at the beginning of each month.

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VII. Individual & Parent Couple and/or Family Therapy

Emerging adults within The Residence program are seen in individual psychotherapy on a 3 times per week basis. The frequency of individual psychotherapy and the indications for parent couple and/or family therapy is individually prescribed for emerging adults within each of the other Yellowbrick programs. The approach with families is to address the developmental transition towards separateness and to increase effective communication patterns.

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VIII.  Education & Career Services

Educational and career services are available to every individual upon admission to Yellowbrick. Weekly individual meetings provide support around various stages of life planning, and are tailored to meet the needs of each person. Involvement in the community is an integral part of our program’s philosophy. Participation in activities, classes and volunteer opportunities within Evanston is encouraged and supported. Members are provided assistance around identifying volunteer and employment opportunities through established relationships with local businesses. Support is offered to individuals by contacting schools, volunteer sites and potential employers. In addition, support is provided around resume and interview preparation.

As the emerging adult becomes more involved in the community, Education & Career Services offers individuals a place to process their experience, and discuss their fears and goals regarding their future. Additional life planning services include assistance for managing unstructured time, educational and career assessment, support for locating living space for individuals transitioning out of the Residence, help examining education and career paths, assistance in developing study skills, building financial management skills and setting up academic support through partnerships such as tutors, school advisors and ACT/SAT/GED preparation. At every stage of the process, Yellowbrick strongly supports the emerging adult in meeting their academic and career objectives.

• Educational and Career Testing and Assessment
• Motivational Assessment
• Prevocational and Job Readiness Skill Development
• Resume Writing
• Job Search and Analysis
• Interviewing and Negotiating Skills
• Mandatory Volunteer Work
• Job Placement and Apprenticeships with 400 Employers
• Job Coaching
• Employer-Employee Consultations

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IX. Yellowbrick Treatment Advocate Service

Emerging adults often have significant impairments in executive functioning.  Assistance may be required for personal organization, motivation and support of daily task functioning.  The Advocate facilitates communication and coordination among various personnel, family and organizations that comprise the individual’s support network.  Given the often sensitive autonomy experience with some emerging adults, it is often helpful to have a family liaison and support available through the Advocate, rather than the individual or family therapist.  The Advocate empowers and encourages integration into the local community for school, work and recreational activities.

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At Yellowbrick, emerging adults find their way home.

For more information, please contact Yellowbrick at 866.364.2300.