Nexus residential programs are designed to keep your family engaged throughout the treatment process—and to ensure you’re wrapped with all the support you need during this difficult time. While we’re helping your child build skills and stability in their lives, we’ll also help the rest of your family deal with the impact of trauma and mental health issues.
Nexus-Gerard Family Healing is located on a beautiful 12-acre campus in Austin, Minnesota, which once served as the Hormel Estate. The site has retained many of its homelike charms, including the family living room, cozy bedrooms, entry drive, gardens, and trees. A nature preserve is adjacent to the property, and wild turkeys and deer are often seen roaming the grounds.
Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Program
For kids who struggle with their emotions, behaviors, and/or mental health, we’re passionate about providing the support they need to heal, grow, and thrive—and we’re highly experienced at doing so.
What are emotional, behavioral, and mental health issues?
When a child’s behavior becomes unmanageable—even with high levels of adult intervention, and even when the child is provided love, structure, and protection—that child is most likely experiencing emotional, behavioral, or mental health issues.
We are experts in working with kids who have ongoing emotional and/or behavioral manifestations, like aggression, self-harm, social withdrawal, emotional outbursts, inappropriate social interactions, inability to self-regulate/self-soothe, and suicidal tendencies.
We treat a wide range of diagnoses, including depression, anxiety, ADHD/ADD, bipolar/manic disorder, PTSD, conduct/oppositional defiant disorder, attachment disorder, pervasive developmental disorder, and more.
Based on each child’s individual and family needs, we use some or all of the following treatment approaches: • Psychological and Psychiatric Assessments
- Clinical Evaluations
- Therapy – Individual, Family, and Group
- Counseling – Individual, Family, and Group
- Psycho-Education – Individual, Family, and GroupPsychiatric Oversight (to include Medication Management)
- Experiential Therapy – Sensory, Movement, Sand, Animal Interactions, and Play
- Research-Based Techniques for Trauma Healing – EMDR (Eye Movement De- Sensitization Reprocessing) and/or TF-CBT (Trauma-Focused – Cognitive Based Therapy)
- Daily Activity and Recreation
- Vocational Skill Development
- Education/School (at the appropriate grade and functional level)
- Referrals – for Substance Abuse Treatment and/or Speech, Physical, and Occupational Therapies
Collaborative Intensive Bridging Services
To help bridge the gap between home and Residential Treatment—and enhance the continuity of care a child receives before, during, and after treatment—this program provides therapy and mental health resources—in the child’s home and/or on the Nexus-Gerard campus. The result is a shorter length of stay and more positive outcomes for both the child and the family.
New Dominion School
(Grades K-12)
New Dominion School is our on-campus, non-public school that serves youth receiving treatment at Nexus-Gerard Family Healing. We customize each student’s learning plans to fit to their individual learning style and ability, we work to support any potential barriers, and we track school performance to help ensure success.
New Dominion School provides an integrated, full-day educational program with a curriculum that aligns with Austin Public Schools (District #492), supplemented by additional curriculum as needed, to ensure we can reach every learner on campus.
New Dominion School follows a traditional school calendar. Students who qualify can receive up to six weeks of additional general or special education services over the summer months.
All New Dominion School teachers are licensed by the Minnesota Department of Education, and classroom curriculum and instruction is based on Minnesota State Standards and formalized testing.
The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) are state tests in reading, mathematics, and science that are used to meet federal and state legislative requirements. The tests are administered every year to measure student performance relative to the Minnesota Academic Standards. All students in public schools are required to participate in the statewide assessment program. Reading and mathematics tests are administered in grades 3–8 and high school (students in grade 10 take the Reading MCA, and students in grade 11 take the Mathematics MCA). The Science MCA is administered to students in grades 5 and 8 and in the high school grade when students take a life science or biology course. New Dominion School offers these assessments in accordance with the testing windows set forth by MDE and Austin Public Schools (March, April, May).
For school record requests:
Phone: 507-434-8650
Fax: 507-433-1627
jcarlson@nexusgerard.org
Vocational Program
Our New Dominion students can receive job and skill training through a partnership with Riverland Community College. Qualifying high school students can take noncredit, experiential college courses in technical exploration and skills training to build some initial vocational experience and skills.
