Demystifying Transportation Services
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It's a situation nothing can prepare you for and one that no one wants to experience. Your child is in urgent need of care and is refusing to go to treatment. Nothing you’ve already tried has worked, and you have serious concerns about your child's safety. For some families, the only option left is to hire a treatment transportation team. However, there are many misconceptions involving these businesses.
Some people have read horror stories about large men – often called goons -- who show up in the middle of the night to kidnap young people and force them into treatment. "Getting gooned" is the term kids often use to describe these scary scenarios.
The reality is that these businesses can help save lives. They employ highly trained staff members who know what at-risk youth are facing and how to get them safely to the services they need with compassion and care.
By answering some of the most frequently asked questions about intervention transport businesses, this article helps separate fact from fiction.
when is it appropriate to use a transport service?
The decision to use a transport service often comes after a parent has tried multiple other means of getting their child help. In many cases, the young person has a history of illegal behavior, substance abuse, attempts at self-harm, or running away from home. Candidates for this service often exhibit aggressive, volatile, or hostile behavior.
Although transport may be viewed as a last resort, it may be more accurate to look at it as a positive way of getting a child the professional help they desperately need.
is using a transport service traumatic?
There is no simple response to this question. Yes, it is startling to have someone come into your home without your knowledge to take you to treatment. However, parents who consider transport have already tried many other means of getting professional help for their children. And it's essential to understand that a young person who is facing untreated mental health, suicidal ideation and attempts, self-harm or substance abuse is already living a traumatic lifestyle. Creating a path to change can help them get the treatment they need
Sometimes, as a last resort, the team will arrive at night because that may be the best time to find the child at home, thought this is not common. A reputable transport company will discuss strategies with you and develop a plan that is in your child's best interest.
what about ethical guidelines?
Look for businesses that are members of the Association of Mediation and Transport Services (AMATS). Members of this organization uphold "standards of excellence and integrate cohesive, safe practices surrounding intervention and transport" of minors and adults.
These standards include the following:
Follow the law and strive to maintain the safety of people in their care.
Provide clear, open communication regarding the mode of travel and the destination to people in their care.
Carry a commercial liability policy and a local business license
Conduct background and driving checks on personnel
Use a written contract detailing the service.
Seek the assistance of additional professionals when encountering behaviors beyond their capability to control.
Demonstrate integrity and compassion.
Provide food and bathroom breaks at safe intervals and offer and record prescribed medications.
Maintain zero tolerance regarding threats, lies, intimidation, or misrepresentation.
Begin service with at least one parent or guardian on-site.
Provide ongoing training in crisis management, intervention, and de-escalation techniques.
what exactly is de-escalation?
Trained transport teams approach de-escalation on a case-by-case basis. These professionals understand – often from first-hand experience -- that the critical first step on the road to healing is getting an at-risk individual to a treatment center. National Treatment Transport, an AMATS member, employs a team of certified recovery coaches, private investigators, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and interventionists -- many of whom have tackled the same issues as their clients before achieving recovery. This provides a basis of empathy as a place to start.
On their website, National Treatment Transport states, "We work from a de-escalation standpoint, meaning we employ verbal interventions and aim to connect before we give a client any directive. When we arrive, we immediately begin the process of building rapport with the client. Recovery is an intensely personal journey, and this is where we are able to relate to struggling teens and young adults most profoundly.”
"We are the professional intermediary between mental health and addiction professionals, treatment centers, and families. Lastly, we never use intimidation tactics or rely solely on physical interventions."
Ethical transportation businesses should never lie to young people about where they are going or why they are going there. They begin relationally, letting the young person know they are safe.
“thugs” in the night
The goal of a professional transport service is to get your child safely from Point A to Point B. The myth of thugs coming in during the night is just that – a myth. Right Directions, a member of AMATS, states that their service has a "smooth, trauma-informed, respect-driven, therapeutic approach toward interventions."
Professional interventionists are highly-trained in communication. They do everything they can to treat young people with respect and de-escalate aggressive behavior verbally. However, if the young person attempts self-harm or tries to harm someone else, restraining them may become necessary. Companies that follow ethical standards will never use aggressive control measures.
the role of parents, when the team arrives
Right Directions recommends that parents calmly introduce their staff to their child, describing them as people who will provide care and safety and take them to get the treatment they need. By the time you are requiring transportation services, you have likely tried every other option in your hometown, to create safety and support, that have not worked. Your child will not be as surprised as you might think. On some level, they know they desperately need help. Stating why the team is there, that you are going to get them the help they need, and that you love them very much, is all you need to say. The team will take it from there.
One way the situation stays calm, is for the parents to leave the room or even the home at this point. The purpose is to remove the temptation for the child to start arguing and becoming disregulated. As difficult as this sounds, it allows the team to begin their rapport-building and ushering your child on the road to their recovery.
Is a transport service right for your at-risk young person? There are no firm guidelines for making this really tough decision. It may be the only way to ensure your child gets the professional care and treatment they desperately need. Bottom line, no one wants to be in a position contemplating the need to hire transport. But if you do, you will ultimately be grateful, and your child has a chance at accessing life changing treatment.
Talley Webb, M.A., CRMC
Journey to Better, LLC
