Blackburn offers non-clinical, one-on-one mentoring for teens and young adults stepping down from residential, wilderness, intensive outpatient and transition programs. A dedicated mentor helps with routine, goals and follow-through at home, by video anywhere in the US or in person in Los Angeles. Your clinical team stays in charge of care, and the mentor coordinates with clinicians only with the client’s permission.
Who this page is for
This page is for clinical directors, therapists, discharge planners, family program staff and alumni coordinators at programs planning what happens after discharge, including:
- Residential treatment programs for teens and young adults.
- Wilderness therapy programs.
- Intensive outpatient and day programs.
- Therapeutic boarding schools; see leaving a therapeutic boarding school.
- Young adult transition and transitional living programs.
Other referring professionals, such as private therapists and educational consultants, can find general information on our page for professionals.
What Blackburn does and does not do
Blackburn is not treatment, aftercare or a clinical program. Mentors are not clinicians and do not assess, diagnose, treat, manage medication or provide therapy. Here is the line:
- Mentors do: help a client plan the week, keep wake and sleep times, get to appointments, manage school or work, handle money and free time, and stay in touch by text and phone between sessions.
- Mentors do not: change, interpret or second-guess the clinical plan; replace outpatient therapy, psychiatric care or a recommended level of care; or act as a crisis service.
- Recovery: for clients in recovery from substance use, mentors can support the daily structure of the plan the clinical team has set. That is one specialty among several, not the frame for our work; see relapse prevention.
Who it fits, and who it does not
Step-down mentoring tends to fit clients who:
- Are clinically ready for home or a lower level of care, in the team’s judgment.
- Will be in ongoing outpatient care and could use support between sessions; see therapy and mentoring together.
- Are returning to school, college or work and need help with routine; see returning to college after a leave.
- Are willing to work with a mentor. Mentoring works best when the client chooses it.
It is not the right fit for a client who needs a higher level of care, is in crisis, or is not yet stable enough for home. In a crisis, call or text 988.
What mentoring looks like week to week
- One dedicated mentor, matched on experience and style.
- Goals the client chooses, often building on the discharge plan, broken into weekly steps.
- Sessions of 60 minutes, weekly or several times a week.
- Text and phone contact between sessions, where much of the follow-through happens.
- Video anywhere in the United States, in the client’s time zone, so mentoring continues wherever home is; in person in Los Angeles.
- For teens, a parent or guardian is always involved: joining the intro call if they wish, agreeing goals and receiving regular progress updates.
Families can read what the first weeks home often look like in coming home after a residential program and after a wilderness program.
How coordination with your team works
- The client or family chooses. You can suggest mentoring as one option. The client, and the family for a minor, decides whether to go ahead.
- Permissions come first. Before any information is shared, the client (and a parent or guardian for a minor) agrees who the mentor may talk to and about what.
- Your team stays the clinical lead. The mentor works from the goals and structure the client and family set with you, and refers clinical questions back to you.
- Updates are practical. With permission, the mentor can share whether routines, school or work and appointments are holding, and flag concerns early to the family and clinical contacts as agreed.
- Concerns are escalated, not handled. If a mentor sees warning signs, they follow the agreed plan to inform the family and clinical team, and point the client to urgent help when needed.
Timing works best when the intro call happens before discharge, so the first session falls in the first week or two at home. See staying on track between therapy sessions for the client’s side.
Questions to ask any step-down provider
- Is the service clinical or non-clinical, and how is that line kept?
- How are permissions documented, and what exactly gets shared?
- How does the provider escalate concerns, and to whom?
- How often is the client in contact, and what happens between sessions?
- How are families involved for minors and for young adults over 18?
- Can support continue if the client moves to another state?
How to start a conversation
If your program is planning step-down support for a specific client, or you want to understand how Blackburn works before suggesting it to families, call or email us. We do not publish prices; rates are reviewed with each family on a free intro call. Families can also start on their own with the five-minute assessment. Educational consultants involved in placement can read our page for educational consultants.
Mentoring is not therapy or clinical care. If someone needs mental health treatment, a licensed clinician is the right place to start, and a mentor can work alongside them.
Related
- For professionals
- Coming home after a residential program
- After a wilderness program
- Therapy and mentoring together
Common questions
Is Blackburn an aftercare provider?
No. Blackburn is non-clinical mentoring. It supports routine, goals and follow-through alongside the aftercare and outpatient plan your team recommends.
Will the mentor share information with our team?
Only with the client’s permission, and for a minor, a parent or guardian’s as well. Without it, nothing is shared.
Can mentoring start before discharge?
The intro call and matching can happen before discharge so sessions start soon after the client gets home. Whether that fits is up to your team and the family.
Do you only work with clients in recovery?
No. Recovery support is one specialty. Step-down mentoring usually centers on school, work, routine and independence more broadly.
Get started
Planning step-down support for a client and want to talk it through? Call (888) 305 5422, email contact@blackburnmentoring.com or start with a short assessment. A member of our team reviews every assessment personally and sets up a free intro call.
Last updated .
Free, by video, 20 minutes, with a member of our team. Weekdays 9 to 5 Pacific.