Date: 03/06/2020
Building teamwork by conquering a ropes course. Overcoming personal fear by scaling a rock wall. Connecting with nature by growing zucchini and learning how to compost food waste.
For most kids, this sounds like a dream summer. For the children and adolescents at Northern Light Acadia Hospital’s Pediatric Behavioral Care Program, these activities are part of the therapeutic care that helps them succeed at home, at school, and in the community.
“Kids learn more when they’re having fun and when they’re engaged,” says Shane “Mack” McPherson, a psychiatric technician at Acadia Hospital. “So, we do a lot of adventure and leisure-based learning here.”
Acadia Hospital’s day treatment program serves between 20 and 60 children and adolescents during the school year, and as many as 120 kids in the summer.
The therapy garden has been one of the most important enhancements to Acadia Hospital’s program, serving as a calming space for hundreds of kids since it came to life four years ago. Non-traditional therapies like yoga, arts and crafts, robot-assisted pet therapy, and music supplement the care provided in individual therapy and small group sessions with clinicians.
“Adventure-based activities contrast with the very peaceful mindfulness of a garden,” adds Mack. “If a kid is exhilarated because he just met his goal, instead of getting too anxious about meeting that goal, he can take a mindful walk through the garden and help that transition. And it often works better than fluorescent light and desks.”
Since 2014, the adventure and leisure-based learning opportunities in the program have benefitted from a special endowment created by Walt and Lianne Harris of Belfast, formerly of Orono. The Harris’s were inspired to give because of their own family’s experience with mental illnesses and their deep ties to Acadia Hospital and the community.
“Acadia Hospital serves not only the Bangor region, but a significant rural population,” says Lianne. “For children in particular, this is the only place to receive these services in northern and eastern Maine. We’re acutely aware that there is a great need for child and adolescent psychiatric services, and this endowment provides important resources that are not covered through insurance.”
The family’s endowment has funded adventure-based therapy training for staff, annual improvements to the garden, arts and crafts supplies, and many other enhancements that have helped staff go above and beyond in caring for their patients. It’s a gift that touches the lives of thousands of children and inspires staff and clinicians.