Milieu Therapy

Strength in Numbers

We believe in the power of Milieu Therapy as a powerful treatment approach for our students. This approach allows us to use our surroundings to encourage healthy ways of thinking and behaving. Milieu Therapy is designed for small, structured communities such as ours to focus on helping individuals develop skills and behaviors that will enable them to live healthier lives in a larger society.

Our students live in a safe, home-like environment that allows them to interact with one another as they participate in ordinary activities and responsibilities throughout each day. As the boys work, play, and interact with each other, opportunities and conflicts naturally arise. This provides the boys with opportunities to learn new healthy ways to cope and respond. When supported by group sessions and therapeutic interventions, our students begin to establish their own treatment goals, make decisions for themselves aligned with those goals, and participate in helping make decisions for the community.

All of this encourages students to define their personal values, and employ them in an environment similar to, and in many cases, identical to environments and situations they will experience throughout their lives. When provided in an environment that is less restrictive, but still well-structured, the results can be powerful. Our Milieu therapy emphasizes routines, boundaries, and open communication to build trust amongst staff and peers in the program.

The experience of defining healthy values and the ability to put those values into play in a healthy, supportive environment is at the heart of Milieu Therapy, and is one of the strongest components to the therapeutic structure at Building Bridges.