For the staff of Moriah Behavioral Health Teen Treatment Program, their motto, “With You For Life,” is not just a marketing tagline—it’s a fundamental principle of their approach to healing. Clients come for treatment and leave with a community. As founder and CEO Mendi Baron explains, “We wrap our arms around our clients. We are fully involved in their lives and embrace them.”
Baron is a man motivated to make changes. After working in the mental health field for two decades, Baron identified a gap in resources for teens in crisis and felt drawn to help, establishing Moriah in 2018 for a primarily adolescent clientele. Patients come from all over the country to receive treatment for a range of mental health disorders and substance addictions. Military families make up a significant 20-30% of Moriah’s clientele, among other demographics.
The Las Vegas-based program has both a residential program, which consists of an around 60-90 day in-patient stay, as well as an outpatient program. The latter involves a three-tiered continuum of care: PHP (partial hospitalization), IOP (intensive outpatient program), and OP (outpatient program, or therapy). Clients’ treatment plans are tailored to their unique needs and are based on clinical necessity.
Moriah’s program offerings are intended to serve as a home away from home. This welcoming feeling is heightened by the thoughtful placement of the center’s rehab homes in a beautiful, serene neighborhood. Moriah’s residential facilities are very different from other rehab settings that are often described as cold or sterile; Moriah, in contrast, believes that an aesthetically pleasing environment contributes to positive wellbeing . Teens at Moriah benefit from spacious 10-bed homes, where each teen gets their own comfortable bedroom with a walk-in closet, along with beautiful and clean living spaces and an outdoor pool.
This theme of community pervades every aspect of the center and its mission. Local Chabad rabbis stop by on a regular basis, checking in with clients while bearing freshly baked packages of challah and other kosher culinary delights that are familiar and comforting to the Jewish clientele. For some clients, it is in these relationships with the rabbis that ends up being a key catalyst for growth. “Our clients really feel like part of a family here,” says Rabbi Levi Harlig, who’s been involved since Moriah first opened. “That positive experience empowers them to rejoin their own families and communities when they return home.”
Moriah staff make it a top priority to endeavor to unlock each client’s personal puzzle. In one case, a girl had been orphaned from her mother some time ago. She didn’t appear to show much interest in the program, but therapist intern Yasmine Jacobs soon learned that the mother’s yartzeit was of great importance to her. When the date approached, Jacobs organized an event to honor the mother, which was very deeply appreciated. After this experience, the two began to bond over shared musical interest, and soon the girl made significant strides towards recovery and rejoining the Jewish community. Jacobs notes, “She started coming around when she saw that we cared and were able to meet her where she’s at.”
Treatment runs the gamut at Moriah. There are supportive groups that range from 1:1 therapy to group and family therapy sessions, marriage and family therapy, EMDR, somatic healing, pet therapy, music therapy, 12-Step Recovery, and more. Clients get a chance to engage in recreational activities as well, such as creative writing workshops, fitness classes, outdoor activities, and game nights.
While the focus is on clients ages 12–18, there are adults who attend the outpatient program. The center addresses depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorders, trauma, and has a separate program just for eating disorders.
Treatment for rehab can be prohibitively expensive, preventing certain families from seeking much needed treatment for their loved ones. Getting proper care is sometimes not available to every family. With that in mind, Moriah works closely with many insurance companies, including Tricare, to cover a client’s stay for as long as necessary, but the staff will also go beyond the call of duty to make sure things work out. In one case, a family couldn’t afford to purchase a flight to Las Vegas. Focused entirely on trying to help this client, a staff member at Moriah put out extensive effort until he discovered a government benefit that would cover the cost of transportation for the client and a parent.
Baron enjoys working with the teenage subset. As he puts it, “If you make a small impact on this demographic, you change their life trajectory.” Unlike adults, teens are not quite as set in their ways, so he finds it easier to shift them out of negative patterns and create healthier ones. “The beauty of working with teens is you can really see someone change so drastically. Seeing them take control of their own life is incredibly gratifying.”
In one instance, a military parent with PTSD started having a significant effect on his daughter. She developed depression and anxiety, attempted running away from home and engaged in self harm. Three months of care at Moriah allowed both her and her family extensive therapy, which stabilized her mental/emotional state. After following up with four months of outpatient therapy, the young woman was able to confidently go off to college, while the father also was healed from his own struggles. “We see so many cases like that, and their successful resolution brings us tremendous satisfaction,” Baron says.
A big part of the clinic’s focus is what happens after a client leaves. Alumni are encouraged to stay in touch with Moriah staff. Yasmine Jacobs, for example, speaks to many alumni on a weekly or monthly basis. Moriah encourages their former clients’ successes, and even has an alumni job network and promotes their businesses.
The full life picture is what it’s all about, Baron concludes. “We at Moriah want to be the system that guides you through whatever life brings.”
Originally published in the Chanukah/Purim 5784 issue of The Jewish American Warrior.
