Recovery Brands, LLC
📍 1111 28th Street NE, Austin, MN 55912
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<p><strong>ABOUT GERARD ACADEMY</strong></p> <p>Set on 12 wooded acres outside of Austin, Minn., Gerard Academy is a <strong>long-term residential facility for children and adolescents</strong> struggling with mental and behavioral health disorders, including substance abuse disorders. It's one of the <a href="https://wwwdasis.samhsa.gov/webt/state_data/MN17.pdf" target="_blank">74 facilities</a> in Minnesota that offer some dedicated programming for adolescents struggling with substance use disorder. Clients must have an IQ of 70 or higher in order to qualify for services. The Academy also offers <strong>outpatient counseling for people of all ages,</strong> including adults.</p> <p>Gerard Academy is owned by Nexus Youth and Family Solutions, a nonprofit agency that runs nine residential and outpatient facilities for youth in Minnesota, Illinois, Idaho, Maryland, and North Dakota. This places Gerard Academy among the <a href="https://wwwdasis.samhsa.gov/webt/state_data/MN17.pdf" target="_blank">42.4 percent</a> of treatment centers in Minnesota that operate on a private non-profit basis.</p> <p>Gerard Academy has a special commitment to protecting the rights of youth on the gender continuum, placing the facility among the <a href="https://wwwdasis.samhsa.gov/webt/state_data/MN17.pdf" target="_blank">14.9 percent</a> of Minnesota facilities that have some <strong>programming dedicated to serving LGBTQ clients</strong>.</p> <p><strong>TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT</strong></p> <p>In order to help families find the right program, Gerard Academy offers a <strong>45-day assessment program,</strong> where youth stay at the facility and receive services for 45 days while staff identify their core problems.</p> <p>The main programs are <strong>long-term, gender-separate</strong> residential programs for boys and girls aged six to 18 who are struggling with emotional disorders. <strong>Treatment typically lasts eight to 10 months,</strong> and can treat a variety of disorders, including chemical dependency, aggressive behavior, self-harm, and learning disabilities. </p> <p>Residents stay in one of six homes, separated by gender and age group, and participate in individualized programs that include work with the whole family as well as <strong>individual, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).</strong> An on-site school also offers academic instruction.</p> <p>When appropriate, youth might instead be assigned to <strong>a short-term residential program, which lasts 90 to 120 days</strong> and offers individual and family therapy, with an intense focus on applying solutions for long-term success. Gerard Academy notes that family involvement is key to the program's success.</p> <p>Aftercare takes the form of the <strong>Bridging Program</strong>, in which clients continue to work with their assigned individual therapist after returning home. Gerard Academy's outpatient counseling services for adults include the opportunity to process addiction to drugs and/or alcohol, as well as a variety of other difficulties.</p> <p><strong>STAFF CREDENTIALS</strong></p> <p>There is currently no information provided by the facility regarding its treatment staff, but the single individual surveyed by Rehabs.com to date gave Gerard Academy five out of five stars for its staff's level of training and experience. </p> <p><strong>ACCOMMODATIONS & AMENITIES</strong></p> <p>The 12-acre campus houses a mansion and six gender-separate homes, each of which sleeps 16 youth, for <strong>a maximum of 96 residents.</strong> Gerard Academy aims for a homely feel, with comfy common areas. There's also an <strong>accredited school on-site</strong>. The single individual surveyed by Rehabs.com to date gave Gerard Academy perfect five-star ratings for its cleanliness and maintenance, accommodations and amenities, meals and nutrition, and exercise and leisure offerings.</p> <p><strong>WHAT ALUMNI SAY</strong></p> <p>Rehabs.com has yet to receive any reviews from this facility’s former clients, but <strong>numerous alumni have left polarized reviews on Google,</strong> where Gerard Academy has an average rating of three out of five stars based on 20 reviews.<small class="footnote"><a target="_blank" href="#footnote-1"><sup>[1]</sup></a></small> A few alumni wrote that they forged close bonds at the facility and found their time there helpful. "After a while of being there you kind of build relationships with the staf and its a great expierience," Crystal wrote in representative positive review.</p> <p>However, Google also revealed many serious complaints, including <strong>untrained and unhelpful staff</strong>, an inappropriate use of physical restraints, and residents leaving feeling worse than they did when they arrived. "Shut this place down or do a complete overhaul. Staff arent trained properly. While some may feel helped by the program, an unignorable amount have only had their issues exasperated by the program," Christian wrote in a representative review.</p> <p><strong>WHAT FRIENDS & FAMILY SAY</strong></p> <p>The single loved one polled by Rehabs.com to date would strongly recommend treatment at Gerard Academy. "Gerard Academy is good with it clients and their family members," they wrote anonymously, giving the facility four stars for its ability to treat co-occurring disorders and five stars in most of the remaining treatment metrics, including its family participation, counseling options, and admin and discharge practices.</p> <p><strong>FINANCING</strong></p> <p>Nexus facilities accept self-pay and private insurance. When asked whether treatment was worth the cost, the single loved one polled by Rehabs.com to date gave Gerard Academy five out of five stars.</p> <p><strong>CONCLUSION</strong></p> <p>In 2018, <a href="https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/05/10/mn-childrens-mental-health-facilities-forced-adapt-cut-back-funding" target="_blank">local news</a> services in Minnesota reported that Medicaid had cut funding to many Minnesota-based facilities, including Gerard Academy, leaving these institutions underfunded.</p> <p><small class="footnote"><a target="_blank" href="#footnote-1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=gerard+academy+austin+mn&oq=Gerard+Academy+austin+mn&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i60j0.1708j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#lrd=0x87f0cdfdff140e63:0xf44d8961873a7663,1,,," target="_blank">GoogleReviews</a></small></p>
— Ellie Robins · 2018-12-04 14:29:29 PST
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