Inpatient Treatment

Four Winds offers acute inpatient psychiatric care to children, adolescents, and adults.

Our patients come from a wide geographic area that includes all five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess and Sullivan counties and as far north as Albany, Connecticut and New Jersey. We accept most commercial insurances as well as Medicaid.

We are the largest child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient hospital in the Northeast.

We treat children, adolescents, and adults suffering from depression, anxiety, ADHD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, autism, trauma, gender dysphoria, personality disorders, suicidal thoughts and self-injurious behaviors.

Each home-like cottage (unit) is staffed by a multi-disciplinary treatment team that consists of a Program Director (head therapist), Nurse Manager (head nurse) and is under the supervision of a psychiatrist (unit medical director).

Units consist of at least one psychiatrist, nurse practitioners, social workers, nursing staff, and other mental health professionals. Our nursing supervisors are always on grounds along with a doctor on call after hours to provide our patients with the 24/7 support they need.

Treatment includes diagnostic evaluation, collaborative treatment planning, individual and group therapy, skills training, family therapy, educational and recreational activities, art therapy, and comprehensive discharge planning. Patients receive individualized treatment plans based on their needs.

We use our “mileu” (the entire social environment) as a therapeutic tool by creating an environment of support (a warm environment), containment (safety), structure (a routine), validation (valuing the individual), and involvement (active participation in treatment).

In our mileu, patients learn new social and self-care skills through daily interactions, structured routines, school, art and recreational therapy. Patients are expected to be a part of their own recovery and take responsibility for their actions in the hospital, which often mimics the challenges they face outside the hospital. Patients practice navigating challenges through day-to-day interactions with peers, staff, and during family sessions.

The benefit of milieu treatment is it treats the whole person, not just the symptoms of the illness. This helps patients build relationships, increase their confidence, and gain skills to manage life’s challenges both in and out of the hospital.

Four Winds is one of the few psychiatric hospitals in the Northeast that treats children between the ages of 5-12. Children have their own separate unit, our Cliffside cottage, which includes its own teaching and learning center, outdoor play area, and separate playground. Cliffside has a multi-disciplinary treatment team, under the supervision of a child and adolescent psychiatrist.

• Treatment of children ages 5-12
• Nurturing, therapeutic, home-like cottage, with outdoor play areas
• Beautiful grounds with outside play time in a healing environment
• Educational services provided on the unit in coordination with the child’s school
• Specialized treatment for children who suffer from emotional and behavioral dysregulation and a wide range of psychiatric disabilities
• Treatment of ADHD, ODD, trauma, depression, anxiety, bipolar, schizophrenia
• Treatment of suicidal ideation and self-injurious behaviors
• Treatment integrates principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
• Treatment promotes positive reinforcement for socially appropriate behaviors
• Treatment includes creative art and recreational therapies
• Focus on family participation in treatment
• Focus on children developing social skills, mastering impulse control, and promoting healthy peer and adult communication
• Medication evaluation, education, and management
• Discharge planning and coordination with outside community service providers

Four Winds is a leading provider of adolescent mental health services in the Northeast. Each home-like cottage is staffed with a professional, multi-disciplinary treatment team, under the supervision of a child and adolescent psychiatrist.

Adolescents are admitted for treatment of their suicidal thoughts, self-harm behaviors, aggression, first break psychoses, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, depression, anxiety, trauma, gender dysphoria, and co-occurring substance use or eating disorder, as well as to learn how to manage their psychosocial stressors and life challenges.

Adolescents participate in individual, group, and family therapy as well as art and recreational therapy. Adolescents attend skill-building groups and learn positive social skills, conflict resolution, and mutual respect without being distracted by their electronics or social media.

• Treatment of adolescents ages 13-17
• Adolescents live in a cottage within a therapeutic milieu setting
• Beautiful grounds with outside recreation in a healing environment
• Specialized treatment for adolescents with emotional and behavioral dysregulation
• Treatment of suicidal thoughts, self-harm behaviors, aggression, first break psychoses, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, depression, anxiety, trauma, gender dysphoria, and co-occurring substance use or eating disorder
• Focus on developing social skills, mastering impulse control, and promoting healthy communication
• Treatment includes creative art and recreation therapies
• Educational services provided through our Learning Center in coordination with the child’s school
• Medication evaluation, education, and management
• Discharge planning and coordination with outside community service providers

For adolescents with mood disorders, suicidal thoughts, and self-harm, bipolar disorder, first break psychosis, substance-induced psychosis, and emerging schizophrenia

• Treatment program based on the principles of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
• Skills training in mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal relationships
• Medication evaluation, education, and management

For adolescents with impulsive and disruptive behaviors

• Goal is to help teens acquire skills to achieve behavioral control
• Treatment program based on dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and collaborative problem solving (CPS)
• Identify patients’ skill deficits to develop an effective intervention approach
• Skills training in mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal relationships
• Medication evaluation, education, and management

For adolescents with specialized learning, social and developmental needs, or on the autism spectrum

• Treatment program based on applied behavior analysis (ABA), a reinforcement and reward based method of treatment along with a specialized mode of DBT
• Focus on individualized short and long-term goals that address treatment and safety needs
• Medication evaluation, education, and management

For adolescents with gender dysphoria and identity issues 

• Four Winds is committed to providing respectful and knowledgeable mental health treatment for LGBTQ+ youth (including adolescents identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, pans, and gender fluid)
• Individualized needs assessment to ensure a comfortable treatment environment
• Treatment program based on the principles of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
• Skills training in mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness
• Medication evaluation, education, and management
• Work with patient and family to address therapeutic issues and conflicts
• Resources provided for added support to patients and families after discharge

Adults are admitted for treatment of their suicidal thoughts and behaviors, depression, anxiety, trauma, personality disorders, bipolar disorder, gender dysphoria, first-break and substance-induced psychosis, and co-occurring eating disorder or substance use (if secondary to primary psychiatric illness)

• Treatment of adults ages 18 years of age and older
• Adults live in a cottage within a therapeutic milieu
• Beautiful grounds with outside yard time for a healing environment
• Comprehensive assessment and diagnosis
• Treatment of suicidal thoughts, self-harm behaviors, aggression, first break psychoses, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, depression, anxiety, trauma, gender dysphoria, and co-occurring substance use or eating disorder
• Treatment program based on principles of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
• Skills training in mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal relationships
• Learn coping skills to manage life stressors and triggers
• Medication evaluation, education, and management
• Individual, group, and family therapy
• A strong focus on family participation in treatment
• Treatment includes creative art and recreational therapies
• Educational services provided through our Learning Center (if school age)
• Discharge planning coordination with outside community service providers