You may have heard the recent news that the West St. Paul City Council unanimously approved moving forward with a new Crisis and Recovery Center. The Center, owned by Dakota County and operated by Guild, will replace Guild South (currently located in South St. Paul) and will feature 16 beds licensed for both Intensive Residential Treatment Services (IRTS) and Crisis Residential Services (CRS). The 15,000-square-foot center will host more than 150 people per year.
Today, we’re sharing a bit more about IRTS, and why it’s such a critical resource in our community.
IRTS offer a safe, home-like environment where individuals can develop or enhance the stability of their mental and/or chemical health. If someone needs intensive services to help them cope with and manage an illness like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, or another psychiatric illness, IRTS is a supportive place to go.
Through IRTS, individuals are offered up to 90 days of treatment, often as a “step-down” from a mental health hospitalization, or as a long-term stabilization treatment option. The services include lodging, meals, 24/7 staffing resources, and work to help individuals:
- Create a treatment and recovery plan based on their needs and goals.
- Develop symptom management and coping skills.
- Understand and maintain an effective medication program.
- Build specific living skills, including: budgeting, cooking/nutrition, using transportation, coping with stress, developing social skills, and managing and preventing crisis situations.
As you might imagine, there are myriad skill sets, education, and licenses necessary to support individuals on their path to stability and recovery. The IRTS team consists of mental health practitioners, including a peer recovery specialist and therapeutic recreational specialist. A registered nurse is available, and clinical supervision is provided by a licensed mental health professional.
Recently, we caught up with Katie Helgason, a licensed social worker and the clinical supervisor of our Guild South crisis and IRTS programs, and Emma Lange, a Mental Health Counselor/Clinical Trainee at Guild South, to learn more about what “A Day in the Life” looks like for an IRTS team member.
Read on to learn more about them!
Katie Helgason, LICSW
Please introduce yourself.
My name is Katie Helgason. I am an LICSW and the clinical supervisor of our Guild South crisis and IRTS programs.
What is an IRTS? What sets it apart from other mental health programs?
IRTS stands for Intensive Residential Treatment Services. It is a highly supported and structured residential program, which allows individuals to continue to stabilize and learn more about their mental health and ways of managing, while also having some freedom to practice their skills and reintegrate back into the community.
How does the IRTS program serve the broader community? In other words, why is it important for IRTS to exist?
IRTS is a unique setting, sort of in the middle of the continuum of care. It allows those who are stable and safe enough to continue to stabilize their mental health in a less restricted environment, outside of the hospital. While at the same time, IRTS is providing a higher level of structure and support for those who have had challenges maintaining stability independently or with less help in the community. It is a controlled environment where people can come live temporarily to learn and practice new skills and daily routines. It is also a place where people who lack support in the community can come get connected to the services and resources they need in the community.
Who do you serve in the IRTS program?
IRTS serves adults suffering from serious and persistent mental illness as well as co-occurring substance use and sometimes medical disorders. We are typically working with individuals who are on a commitment or who have been hospitalized for a period of time and are working to slowly reintegrate back into the community.
What does your average day look like?
As the supervisor, my day looks different from that of the residents and other staff, but what is the same is we are always in person and no two days look alike! Today I started my day by checking in with the day staff and residents. I followed this up by screening in a new crisis resident and admitting a new IRTS resident. I then met with an existing IRTS resident to complete her diagnostic assessment which will help to dictate our treatment goals and work with her for the remainder of her stay. I reviewed clinical documents from the whole team, provided coaching and feedback to one of our new staff, and interviewed another potential candidate to come work with us. I finished my day by checking in with our evening staff who were just getting theirs started!
What do you enjoy most about your work day?
I enjoy the intimacy of residential treatment. This setting allows us to get to know our residents very well and support them in their recovery and healing throughout the day as opposed to just a moment in time or during a short appointment window. Because of the intensive work with residents, this setting also fosters a strong and close working team environment which I greatly appreciate and thrive in.
Please share a memory of a time when you knew your work was really making a difference in a client’s life.
We recently worked with a lady who came to us having a very hard time getting along with others. She and I built a good rapport and she would come find me in my office most days to take a short walk, especially when she was upset. She would tell me all the time that she felt heard and understood by me. After a few months with us, her outpatient providers said it was the best they had ever seen her doing. She continues to call weekly to say she misses us, is doing well, and that she is still using several of the anger management skills we would talk about during her stay here. People don’t always find the words to say it but when they keep showing up at our program or my office door or on the phone for help or just to be heard, I know we have made a difference.
Emma Lange
Please introduce yourself.
My name is Emma Lange and I am a Mental Health Counselor/Clinical Trainee at Guild South IRTS and Maureen’s House Crisis Residence. I am currently in the process of applying for my professional clinical license in the state of Minnesota (LPCC).
What is an IRTS? What sets it apart from other mental health programs?
IRTS stands for Intensive Residential Treatment Services. IRTS programs are important in the treatment community because they provide clients with an opportunity to learn more about their current mental health/substance use diagnoses, while teaching them skills to help manage those disorders and utilize outside of treatment as well. We are able to meet clients where they are at in their recovery journey and assist them in planning for the future. This may look like housing, therapy, medical appointments, employment, hobbies, etc.
How does the IRTS program serve the broader community? In other words, why is it important for IRTS to exist?
It’s so important for IRTS programs to exist because they provide a step-down level of care after discharging from the hospital. We use this same model when it comes time for clients to discharge from IRTS. We encourage clients to take it slow, and not overwhelm themselves with too much, too soon. Taking things one step at a time is crucial in long-term recovery. We are able to provide a sense of structure and routine that clients are hopefully able to translate into outside of treatment.
Who do you serve in the IRTS program?
We serve adults with a current SPMI/SMI [serious and persistent mental illness/serious mental illness] diagnosis and/or a co-occurring substance use disorder in the metro area. We have a contract with Dakota County that allows us to prioritize those clients, but we serve clients from a variety of counties around the state of Minnesota.
What does your average day look like?
I get into the office at 8:00 and help with shift exchange if individuals need extra support. I check my emails and review shift notes from the evening before. Then, I usually start prepping for a 10:30 psychoeducation group, based on the established group calendar. After group, I will complete group notes and grab a bite to eat. Oftentimes, the afternoons can look very different for me day to day. Catching up on clinical documentation, checking in with clients, meetings/supervision, or working on little projects needed for the longevity of the programs. If we have an IRTS admission that day, I will typically complete that in the morning hours of the day, then facilitate a 1:00 group with the clients. I do float in between the two programs, so if Maureen’s House is in need of extra support that day, I will be flexible and work over in the crisis house.
What do you enjoy most about your work day?
I enjoy the genuine connections and therapeutic rapport I can build with clients on a day-to-day basis. I like having no two days be the same, based on a variety of factors, but also having structure and routine in my day.
Please share a memory of a time when you knew your work was really making a difference in a client’s life.
I was regularly meeting with an IRTS client as they were awaiting a therapy intake. There was one specific meeting where I for sure thought I had just ruptured the therapeutic relationship with how I challenged this client. Upon their discharge, this client reported to other staff members and eventually myself how much they appreciated me challenging them in that specific meeting and how they need to do more of that for themselves moving forward. Changes aren’t always going to be glaringly obvious. It’s the little things that may end up being more impactful than you realize!
Learn more about the new Dakota County Crisis and Recovery Center here, about our IRTS here, or donate today to support the critical work of Guild staff like Katie and Emma.