Friends of Open Door Youth Services Inc

With a referral by the Indiana Department of Child Services or Juvenile Probation, children and families can receive various types of psychological testing. This testing can help to determine the right intervention for children as soon as possible, keeping them from being shuffled around between various programs.

​Dr. Tony Sheppard is a Certified Group Psychotherapist and has provided statewide training to direct care staff in youth self-harm and youth suicidality. He can provide:

1. Screens for mental health diagnoses and personality traits that might contribute to problems.
2. IQ testing that provides insight into the client's cognitive functioning level.
3. Administration of clinical and parenting measures to determine parenting abilities.
4. Trauma scales that assist in determining the potential impacts of past or suspected trauma.

Sometimes the kids arrive because home isn’t such a good place to be. Sometimes they are brought because they’ve missed too much school, or the disagreements at home are out of control. Whatever the reason, Open Door Youth Services gives them a safe, supportive place to live. Some children stay a couple of days and some have to stay for months or even years. We are proud that our residential program outcomes show great success every year. Some of our proudest accomplishments include providing family counseling in-house, growing a garden maintained by our kids, and children who visit and write years after they leave.

A Licensed Therapist conducts therapeutic groups with the children weekly. He is also available for individual, family, and crisis counseling. All residential staff receives extensive clinical training by the therapist.

We are also proud to provide a staff person devoted to academics. One-on-one homework help, daily study time, tutoring, and supplemental instruction are p