Located just outside Boston in Brighton, Massachusetts, near St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center and easily accessible by public transportation, this center supports children and adolescents with complex medical, emotional, and developmental needs. It offers inpatient mental health care, rehabilitation,
outpatient therapy, and medical services for youth from infancy through age 22 in a warm, child-focused setting.
Their care is guided by a trauma-informed, family-centered model that encourages healing and long-term growth. Children receive individual and
group therapy, mindfulness and self-regulation practice, expressive arts, occupational therapy, and psychiatric support. These approaches help reduce distress, teach coping skills, and improve emotional and behavioral stability across a range of conditions.
One creative feature is the LEGO-based social skills group, where children participate in a structured game by building LEGO sets together. Each child plays a role as an engineer, supplier, or builder which requires teamwork, communication, and turn-taking. This playful yet purposeful therapy helps develop peer interaction, frustration tolerance, and emotional control in a fun, hands-on environment.
Evidence-Based Context: According to SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2023), approximately 48.7 million Americans aged 12 or older had a substance use disorder in the past year. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) emphasizes that treatment programs combining behavioral therapy with medication-assisted approaches show the highest rates of sustained recovery. Facilities like Franciscan Children’s provide structured pathways to evidence-based care.
Sources: SAMHSA NSDUH 2023, NIDA Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment (4th Ed.)