Substance use disorders (SUDs) are increasingly prevalent in the U.S., affecting adults and adolescents. With more potent and accessible substances, young people face significant risks. Unfortunately, resources are scarce for education, prevention, and treatment of SUDs in this demographic. UAMS clinicians recognized this gap and established the UAMS Health Six Bridges Clinic to address this critical need.
Six Bridges to Recovery
Dr. Srinivasa Gokarakonda, known as Dr. G, is the medical director of the clinic, which treats children and adolescents for alcohol, opioid, and marijuana dependency. The name “Six Bridges” symbolizes the clinic’s six treatment protocols: mental well-being, physical well-being, patient support, family support, recovery support, and prevention education. The clinic’s name was inspired by the six bridges that connect Little Rock and North Little Rock.
Dr. G highlights the severe impact substance misuse has on a family, explaining, “I see a lot of broken families due to a parent passing away or being incarcerated due to substance use. Sometimes, kids develop trauma and pick up the habits they saw in their family members.” Trauma is a major risk factor for substance use, often leading to mental health issues and addiction.
Addressing these interconnected issues is essential because there is a shortage of young adult and youth SUD treatment clinics in Arkansas. “Before this clinic, there were no specialty clinics in Arkansas that had treatment protocols or provisions for teen substance abuse,” Dr. G says. “There were only one or two providers providing care here and there throughout the state, but there was no specific clinic to provide this type of care.”
The UAMS Health Six Bridges Clinic officially opened on March 18, 2024, in response to a funding opportunity from the Blue and You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas to enhance behavioral health challenges among children, teens, and young adults in the state. UAMS collaborated with Arkansas Children’s Hospital to implement the clinic. Since its inception, the clinic has seen a steady growth in patients.
Patient Population and Services
The clinic caters to individuals aged 12–21. Upon their first visit, patients undergo a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation to determine treatment for underlying issues like depression or anxiety. Each patient receives a 13-panel urine drug screening, with personalized treatment plans developed based on individual needs.
The UAMS Health Six Bridges Clinic takes an interdisciplinary approach to care. “We must be able to fully prepare our team and get them all in the same room. Our team includes a social worker, nurse, medical assistant, myself, and other staff to help with intake and assessment,” Dr. G says. Due to the thoroughness of the new patient assessment, an initial appointment may take up to 2–3 hours. “We perform a lot of assessments that take time to complete. I don’t want to rush through appointments when we have so much critical information to collect,” he said. Follow-up appointments are much shorter and allow for patients to begin taking action based on their assessment results.
Anyone can schedule an appointment with the clinic by calling 501-526- 8487. Parents and providers can call. Family involvement is crucial to patient success. Patients are encouraged to call in with a parent to ensure the parent and child are both on board with the treatment options. The clinic’s design emphasizes this collaborative approach, ensuring that family members are involved throughout the recovery process. The clinic schedules appointments as soon as possible with no doctor’s referral required.
Patients will continue to come to the clinic for outpatient care in the form of weekly individual therapy, family therapy as needed, and medication management. At each visit, patients will be expected to provide a urine sample for drug screening to allow the team to track their substance use. The clinic also plans to initiate group therapy once a month, which will help individuals learn coping and refusal skills from other participants.
A Growing Resource
Housed on the fourth floor of the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute, the clinic boasts a variety of facilities, including Buprenorphine and methadone clinics, interview rooms, and spaces for group and family therapy. “The UAMS Health Six Bridges Clinic is less than a year old, so we’re still working on growing full speed with this clinic and seeing more patients and families,” Dr. G notes.
While the Six Bridges clinic is only in phase one, there are plans to expand services in the future. “In phase two, we plan to start an intensive outpatient program, where patients can come in for a maximum of nine hours per week for treatment. Instead of going to a residential program, they can spend time at our clinic during the day and then go back to their families,” Dr. G said.
In phase three, the clinic plans to start a partial hospitalization program, where patients come in the morning and leave in the evening. “We don’t want to separate patients from their families, but we still want to provide the treatment they need.”
Education Initiatives
The UAMS Health Six Bridges Clinic seeks to implement prevention education in the near future. “We want to collaborate with other groups working on substance abuse issues in teens and education projects across the state,” Dr. G said. “We plan to collaborate with the Arkansas Department of Education to visit Arkansas schools and provide substance abuse prevention training and education to teens and parents.”
Challenges
The biggest challenge facing our state today is the deficit in substance use treatment clinicians with expertise in adolescent/youth treatment. “There are several organizations that offer services in our state for adults, but not many people are trained to treat children. There are very few child psychiatrists and therapists that can treat kids in these populations.”
The UAMS Health Six Bridges Clinic is the only clinic in the state with staff who have the expertise needed to offer substance use treatment for children. By filling a pivotal gap in treatment, the UAMS Health Six Bridges Clinic aims to foster recovery and resilience among youth and their families.
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