Focus. Clarity. Direction.
When an individual is facing complex mental health concerns, brief outpatient visits or short-term hospitalizations may not provide enough time or depth of observation to fully understand the factors contributing to their challenges. Many youths and families arrive having pursued multiple treatment approaches without achieving lasting improvement, often feeling uncertain about what to try next.
Established in 2012, the Comprehensive Assessment & Treatment (CAT) Program at Huntsman Mental Health Institute is designed to serve this population. The program provides a structured inpatient setting that allows for extended observation, multidisciplinary assessment, and thoughtful clinical formulation for children and adolescents with complex psychiatric, behavioral, or developmental presentations.
Who We Serve
The CAT Program serves youth ages 4–17, as well as voluntary 18-year-olds who are still enrolled in high school. We specialize in working with children and adolescents whose needs go beyond what can be addressed in a brief hospitalization, offering a thorough and nuanced approach to understanding their unique challenges.
Common referral questions include:
- Diagnostic uncertainty or conflicting diagnoses, including cases with overlapping or evolving symptom profiles
- Complex concerns related to mood regulation, behavioral control, and disturbances in thought processes
- Autism spectrum and neurodiverse presentations accompanied by additional psychiatric symptoms, such as mood, behavioral, or cognitive difficulties
- School refusal or academic decline associated with a range of mental health factors, including possible cognitive or perceptual challenges
- Safety concerns that may require inpatient stabilization for comprehensive assessment and support
- Guidance for treatment planning and determining next levels of care in the context of multifaceted clinical presentations
Our team is skilled in differentiating among a wide array of potential challenges and providing individualized recommendations to support each youth’s ongoing care.
What to Expect During the CAT Program
The CAT Program operates across two co-ed inpatient units within Huntsman Mental Health Institute. Each unit provides a highly structured, therapeutic environment designed to support safety, assessment, and engagement.
Program features include:
- Single rooms with private bathrooms
- 24/7 nursing and psychiatric technician support
- Daily therapeutic groups and structured routines
- Expressive therapies integrated into the milieu
- On-unit educational programming with certified teachers
PSYCHIATRIC CARE
Board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrists meet with youth six days per week to provide ongoing psychiatric assessment, medication evaluation, and monitoring. This high level of psychiatric involvement allows for careful observation of symptom patterns and treatment response over time.
Comprehensive Assessment Model
The primary focus of the CAT Program is thorough, multidisciplinary assessment grounded in real-time observation and formal evaluation. All members of the treatment team contribute to understanding how each child functions across emotional, behavioral, social, cognitive, and academic domains.
Youth are evaluated across settings and situations, allowing the team to observe patterns of regulation, coping, relationships, learning, and daily functioning.
Neuropsychological Evaluation
When clinically indicated, youth participate in a comprehensive, multi-session neuropsychological evaluation conducted by a licensed psychologist. Assessment domains may include:
- Cognitive functioning
- Mood and emotional regulation
- Executive functioning
- Social understanding
- Behavioral patterns
- Academic skills
Parents and caregivers complete standardized questionnaires to provide valuable historical and contextual information. Findings are integrated with psychiatric, therapeutic, educational, and milieu observations to inform diagnostic clarity and treatment planning.
Therapeutic Programming
Youth participate in a range of therapeutic services tailored to developmental level and clinical needs, including:
- Individual therapy
- Family therapy
- Group therapy
- Expressive therapies
- ROPES Challenge Course
- Skills-based groups (e.g., ACT, DBT)
Group programming emphasizes emotional awareness, coping skills, communication, and behavioral flexibility, with concepts reinforced across the treatment environment.
Education Services
Academics are an important component of a youth’s life; however, at the time of admission, school is often a secondary concern due to diagnostic uncertainty and challenges with day-to-day functioning. As part of the comprehensive assessment process, the CAT team evaluates academic needs alongside clinical stabilization.
Our education specialist will:
- Review past academic records
- Evaluate current academic functioning
- Develop an individualized academic plan
Once a youth has stabilized, academic instruction is gradually re-integrated. The education specialist facilitates a 75-minute classroom experience four days per week on the adolescent unit and five days per week on the child unit, allowing for direct observation of learning style, strengths, and challenges. Educational findings are integrated into the overall assessment to guide future school planning and academic recommendations.
Family Involvement
Families are actively involved throughout the admission. The treatment team partners closely with caregivers through:
- Regular family therapy sessions
- Parent questionnaires and collateral interviews
- Collaborative treatment and discharge planning
- Guidance for navigating challenging behaviors
Comprehensive Assessment. Clear Answers. Meaningful Next Steps.
Aftercare Planning & Discharge
Discharge planning is informed by the comprehensive assessment completed during the admission. Prior to discharge, families receive:
- A comprehensive written clinical summary
- Clear diagnostic impressions
- Individualized treatment recommendations
- Guidance regarding next levels of care when indicated
- Collaboration with educational consultants when involved
The goal of the CAT Program is to provide thorough, thoughtful, and data-informed recommendations to guide effective treatment planning. While reintegration into the family, school, or community may be appropriate for some youth, recommendations are individualized based on each youth’s clinical needs and assessment findings.
Contact our Care Team for Help Navigating our Youth Mental Health Programs
We’re here to help you navigate next steps. If you’re unsure which level of mental health care is right for your child, our care team can walk you through options and help determine the best fit for their needs. Call 801‑583‑2500 to speak with our care team.
If your child is experiencing suicidal thoughts or behaviors or is in immediate danger of harming themself or others, call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for immediate support, available 24/7.
CAT Program Resources
Care you can trust
