While all aspects of our residential program are designed to create therapeutic opportunities throughout the course of the day, your child will receive specialized therapy services provided by staff who are professionally trained. Specialized therapy services are coordinated with the other components of your child’s treatment plan (school, cottage life, visits) to facilitate and support their progress in those areas.

Individual, Group & Family Therapy

Each child is assigned a Primary Therapist who holds a Master’s degree in psychology, social work or counseling. The average client case load for a Primary Therapist is seven clients, which allows for the weekly frequency of these services to be adjusted according to the individual needs of your child. The Therapists are supervised by the Director of Clinical Services, who is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), with over 15 years of residential treatment experience.

Psychiatric Consultation

Kemmerer Village employs a Illinois State Board certified child psychiatrist in a consulting role, which consists of eight hours on-campus each week, as well as on-call status for our Primary Therapists.

Equine Therapy

On-campus horse stables, outdoor & indoor riding arenas provide an excellent opportunity to engage an otherwise resistant client in the therapy process. The program is operated by a licensed therapist trained in Equine Assisted Therapy.

Horses have been a big part of Kemmerer Village for many years. At different times, children on campus have enjoyed riding the horses as well as mucking the stalls, feeding, and grooming the horses. Through out that time there was always the dream to build an indoor riding arena in an effort to make this a year round activity.

Today the Franchois Riding Arena is a reality providing one of a kind Assisted Equine Therapy in Central Illinois. Several work groups from local Presbyterian Churches have helped put the finishing touches to the building this summer: Freeport, Gibson City, Monticello, Jacksonville and First Presbyterian Church of Decatur. We would like to express our appreciation to the Kemmerer Village Board of Directors for their support, Amber Miller, Licensed Therapist and coordinator for the program, also to Dan and Christine Reed for their years of work with the horses and youth. Our appreciation also goes to Doug Dressen, Bremmerer Sanctuary and Joe Young for their help with the pasture fence.

The Mission of the Kemmerer Village Equine Program is to assist children and youth in attaining the necessary skills to become well adjusted and productive members of society.

We are very grateful for this beautiful new addition to our campus. It will continue to help serve generations of children in need. The new arena will enable Kemmerer Village to provide the Equine Assisted Therapy Program year round which is proving to be extremely successful in helping our young people. Each contact that a child has with a horse and staff member allows them the opportunity to build feelings of respect for self and others, and to build their sense of compassion and self worth. The relationship built between a child and a horse can be a powerful tool in developing functional skills and insight into a child’s behaviors. Additionally, this relationship can bring significant healing to a child. In order for the relationship to grow, the young person must develop communication, patience, boundaries and respect. The horses will give trust and respect to those who earn it. Equine Facilitated Therapy challenges youth to experience change and growth during a session. Children often feel motivated and empowered by their interactions with the horses and are often able to be at their best and happiest during these sessions.

There are three programs currently running at the indoor riding facility at Kemmerer Village. They are Work, Recreation, and Counseling (or Therapy). The children are placed in which ever program best meets their individual needs. Children who participate in horse programs at Kemmerer Village learn to love and trust others as well as how to use direct and indirect communication. They also help them to use empathy and to maintain appropriate boundaries with others. Horses are very sensitive to body language and give accurate feedback to our children about how they are communicating.

Therapeutic Recreation

Group and Individual Therapeutic Recreation activities for each client are based on the client’s Treatment Plan goals. Activities are designed to enhance client self-esteem, social and communication skills, cooperation, fine and large muscle motor skills by using a variety of mediums:

• Art Therapy
• Music Therapy
• Team & Individual Sports – via the Illinois Inter-agency Athletic Association Physical fitness and Healthy Life-style Related activities. Hobby based activities to develop new interests and leisure alternatives.
• Residential After Care & Advocacy - Typically a 30-90 day follow-up support by our clinical and case management staff to our clients and their families to facilitate the successful transition back into the family home. This service is provided at no additional cost