Challenges and Rewards of Working in a Children’s Psychiatric Hospital [VIDEO]
For a child struggling with mental health, being admitted to a hospital or residential treatment facility can provide them intensive services that help stabilize a crisis so they can focus on healing. They can learn new coping skills, work with professionals to determine if medication is a helpful treatment path, and receive therapy in individual and group settings. When it comes to working in this type of setting and being a direct caregiver to a child who is struggling, there are many rewards as well as challenges.
This blog explains what it’s really like to work in a children’s psychiatric hospital or residential treatment facility like Camber Children’s Mental Health (previously KVC Hospitals). It also talks about the incredible impact that every employee can make in helping children.
Join our team of extraordinary healthcare professionals making a positive difference! Browse our job openings and apply today!
Watch this video to hear from real employees on why they applied to Camber and what they like about working with kids.
The Rewards of Helping Youth Heal
For most people, they work because they have to – but working at Camber is different. Seeing the growth in a child from their first day at the hospital to their last is a special kind of feeling. It’s the feeling you get when you see a child’s eyes light up as you discuss goals for the future and you know you’ve made a difference. These small successes where a child learns and reacts in a healthy way are some of the best rewards of helping youth heal at Camber. Each small step leads to life-changing, world-changing successes. That’s what we hope for in each child that needs our support: to be healthy, to engage successfully with others and to be safe. Working to help kids feel better about themselves can also benefit the employees themselves. Employees can feel a sense of purpose, joy, and happiness every single day.
The Challenges Youth Are Working to Overcome
No parent imagines a day when they have to bring their child to a children’s psychiatric hospital. But every day, there are thousands of parents who see their children struggle with defiant or aggressive behavior, severe academic problems, emotional and behavioral health crises, and even inflicting harm on themselves or others.
At Camber, our compassionate staff is eager to help. We view behavioral health disorders through a trauma-informed lens. We know that a youth’s brain development is affected by adverse childhood events. Children who feel toxic stress often experience interruptions in healthy brain development. These traumatic experiences affect the child’s ability to manage emotions and succeed in their homes and communities. Through our residential treatment and acute psychiatric hospitals, we help children and teens strengthen their brains and build resiliency. It’s amazing but true: the brain can change and that changes everything.
Changing a Child’s Life
Each day, we help kids who don’t want to live, aren’t able to communicate in a healthy way and who are scared and need help. We know that every interaction with those in our care has to be a positive and safe interaction so that they can begin to heal. Children deserve to have healthy and happy childhoods so that they can grow into healthy and happy adults. Our dedicated employees are here to provide these youth with the encouragement and positive relationships to build a brighter tomorrow.
We’re looking for more compassionate people to join our team at Camber Children’s Mental Health. If you are interested in a career in social work, therapy, psychiatry and working with kids browse the open positions on our careers page.
Success Stories
- The Lydia Tree: How Unconditional Love Helped One Girl Heal from a Traumatic Childhood
- Finding Her Voice: Teen Girl Thrives in Treatment
- Young boy opens up and learns to trust
- Young girl gains resources, support to help manage her physical and mental health
- Journaling provides healing for girl who experienced abuse
- Teen learns coping skills for success
- Teen displaced by war receives treatment