Q&A with Bonnie Brae Clinical Coordinator

Give us a little sense of who you are. Why you came here? Where you came from? My name is Thalia Carrera. I am one of the clinical coordinators here at Bonnie Brae. I am currently working in Farrow Cottage, so I oversee 14 boys in the cottage. I have been working here for a little over a year. This is my first job since receiving my Masters Degree from Rutgers University. Prior to working at Bonnie Brae, I was a CMO worker. I worked there for three years and was introduced to the field. I worked with different residential programs, different system partners, providers, and I realized that what I really wanted to do was clinical work and therapy. I was already familiar with Bonnie Brae from working at the CMO, as I placed a couple of kids in the program. I was really pleased with the structure of the program, as well as, the success rate. I had a really good experience working with Bonnie Brae. That encouraged me to apply and get a job here. Tell me your best success story so far at Bonnie Brae. One of the kids that I discharged, maybe about a week ago, was a kid that was admitted to the program a week after I started. He was my first resident that I was working with. It was interesting because he was assigned to my group, my cottage, and I was also his family therapist. I was working with him in all different areas. Initially, when he first came here, his relationship with his mom was not good at all, it was very strained. There were a lot of issues going on there. He was struggling a little bit with the program initially. After working with him and the family for a while, I was really pleased to see that he made a lot of progress not only with his behavior in the program and at home, but also with his relationship with his mom, it did a complete 180. It was really interesting and nice to see how they were able to work through their issues and he was successfully discharged. He was one of the kids that I started with and worked with through his whole stay here and I discharged him. I built a great relationship with him and his family. It was his choice for who his Aftercare Counselor would be and he chose me. I get to see what he is like outside of the program and see what he is like after the program. It is really great. Tell me what you think our plans for a new family center would bring to your work. I am really excited to hear that these plans are coming along. We do need a lot more space for families. There are a lot of visits that go on during the weekends, holidays, and birthdays. When the families come there is limited space for them right now as to where they can visit and which rooms they can use. The family center would be a great place for them to visit and spend time with their families. It would be more appropriate for them to go over to the family center and spend time with their family there. Now that you actually work at Bonnie Brae, what makes Bonnie Brae special? I was impressed by the amount of recreational activities that were available to the boys. Not just that, but the opportunities that they have for working and earning some money are really, really great. I didn’t get to see much of that before coming here. Once I arrived I saw that this was a big part of the program. It really gives the boys something positive to do while they are here. It gives them an opportunity to earn some money and learn some responsibility. They really seem to enjoy it and it really seems to work together with the whole treatment aspect of our program. We make a good connection between the treatment, recreation and work. I was really impressed by how they were able to manage all of that and develop it into what it is now. Tell me what it is like to work with the other staff. I learned so much. I love working with different types of personalities. Everyone has a different approach as to how they work with the kids. I get to learn a lot from different people. Even the clinicians, they each have a certain style. When I was training, I was shadowing all of them. I picked up little things from the way that they work and the style that they use. The residential staff also has a different approach and the position is a little bit different. I was really interested in learning how they are able to deal with the behavioral issues and develop that relationship with the kids. That was really important to me. Even though as a clinician, I do get to spend a lot of time with the kids, the residential staff do a lot more. What is your favorite thing about Bonnie Brae? What do you think it is the best thing that we do? You said that we do a lot of great things in the program. Is there one thing that sets us apart, since you did work for a CMO? I think that the family therapy aspect sets Bonnie Brae apart. I know that other programs have it, and they offer it, but families aren’t too encouraged to participate in family therapy. Here, we really encourage families to be a part of the family therapy and the child’s treatment. That is really important because the child is eventually going to go back to the home. If we can’t have the family involved, the child can make as much progress in the program, but if nothing is changing at home, nothing will really change. So, I really like the fact that we focus on the family therapy and the kids and the families getting to be involved in the kids’ treatment. Also, the groups that we offer for the kids. We do a lot of group work more than the individual. It works better for them. They do a lot better with groups. I am able to interact with them in the living unit or if they are having issues with a peer with a game. I am able to intervene. They get more out of that than if I asked them to come to my office and talk to me. What is the one thing you think would make your job better? What do you need to be better? Quite honestly, we have had these discussions in staff meetings as well. It is great that I am able to do direct work with the clients, able to meet with them, do the therapy with the clients and their families. I think that just the paperwork aspect of it is challenging. I don’t know if there is enough time for that always. We have been trying to work with a new system that we have now. I think that once we are able to navigate through that and get a better understanding of how it works and get more comfortable with it, it will be a lot easier. For the time being, getting used to that new system can be challenging. Accredited by the Joint Commission, Bonnie Brae is one of the nation’s preeminent residential treatment centers for at-risk adolescent boys who have been neglected, abused, or abandoned. We provide a safe place for boys and young men in crisis, ages 8-21, a place for them to heal, to learn and to grow. We have helped over 10,000 boys and families since our founding in 1916. Please contact us today to learn how you can make a positive difference in a young man’s life.