Laurel Oaks Behavioral Health Center is a residential treatment center for children between the ages of 4 and 18 who have been diagnosed with a primary psychiatric disorder requiring residential treatment. Patients for which psychiatric hospitalization is medically necessary for safety reasons are not accepted and youth must have the physical ability to participate in the program and be willing to participate in daily structured activities.

Robert L. Turner, Ph.D., CEO of Laurel Oaks Behavioral Health Center is a Clinical-Child Psychologist licensed in Alabama, Colorado and New York. He has worked as the Director of Child and Family Programs at Colorado West Regional Mental Health Center and at St. Lawrence County Mental Health Clinic in New York. Medical Director, Nelson M. Handel, M.D., is also the founder of Dothan Behavioral Medicine and was awarded the Clinical Scholar Award by the University of Miami School of Medicine in 1996. Laurel Oaks Behavioral Health Center is accredited by the Joint Commission, the Alabama State Board of Health, Alabama Department of Education, and the Alabama Department of Youth Services.

The program includes 4 living units within the facility delegated by age group, each with an individual staff. The treatment provided includes group and individual psychotherapy, daily goal setting with the assistance of staff, recreational therapy, family psychotherapy, and medication management. The facility also houses a fully accredited K-12 school on site where students attend school 6 hours daily and participate in music, arts, language classes, and sports.

Laurel Oaks is located on ten acres in southeast Alabama, near the Georgia and Florida borders. The facility includes the registered private school, a full service cafeteria, cosmetologist salon, and numerous recreational opportunities including an in-ground swimming pool, gymnasium, and tennis and basketball courts.

[This information came from the Laurel Oaks Behavioral Health Center website.]