Emmaus Program
Treating the Person as a whole – Body, Mind and Spirit – in a supportive healing environment
The Emmaus Program* at Saint Luke Institute is a comprehensive mental and spiritual care treatment program for clergy, religious and other Church leaders in need of an extended period of dedicated healing and renewal. Our licensed clinicians and expert spiritual integrators address the unique needs of these ministers in harmony with the teachings of the Catholic Church. There are many areas of mental and spiritual care which the Emmaus Program can address. The following are some of the most common:
- Addictions and recovery
- Anxiety and stress management
- Depression and mood disorders
- Burnout
- Childhood abuse and adult trauma
- Financial distress
- Grief and loss
- Mental and spiritual care integration
- Sexual wellness, including healthy celibacy
- Relationship health and boundaries
- Self-esteem
- Transitions, including retirement, job change or job loss
- And more
The Emmaus Program is offered exclusively at our Silver Spring, Maryland location in suburban Washington, D.C. Details on housing options and office suite access are below.
Not every mental health need can be effectively addressed through the Emmaus Program. Saint Luke Institute offers an extensive clinical evaluation to determine which types of treatment and care are appropriate.
We offer guidance and consultation on insurance coverage to cover treatment costs. No priest or religious is refused treatment due to inability to pay.
*formerly the Saint Luke Institute Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)
Creating the Space for Comprehensive Care
The Emmaus Program allows our clients the ability to maintain the rhythms of daily life while in treatment. We have found that this care approach is more effective than longer-term in-patient programs. It fosters better results and a more natural transition back to ministry and community life following program completion.
Clients follow a comprehensive 5-day schedule Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., including group therapy, psychoeducational and spirituality groups, and individual therapeutic sessions as determined by the client’s treatment plan.
Once a client is recommended for the Emmaus Program, the length of stay is typically four to six months, depending on the diagnosis and progress in treatment. Upon completion of the program, clients move to the Continuing Care program, where they receive high-quality support for five years post-treatment.
Therapy helps clients to grow in freedom from unhealthy defenses, beliefs, and psychological burdens and in the process become more themselves. They also come to understand the impact of life experiences on current behaviors and attitudes and learn to initiate new behaviors. Clients engage in planning to help them integrate new skills and behaviors as they return to healthy ministry and/or community life.
Admissions Process
Our staff members determine the client’s treatment needs by conducting a five-day, comprehensive and clinically-focused clinical evaluation. We provide the evaluee and his/her ecclesiastical superior with comprehensive oral feedback and recommendations, as well as a detailed written report to help determine the appropriate next steps. Clients may also be referred to the Emmaus Program after undergoing a clinical evaluation elsewhere.
Sample Program Schedule
Our five-day-a-week 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. program schedule includes:
- Individual and group therapy (see Therapeutic Modalities)
- Spiritual integration sessions
- Prayer groups
- Expressive therapy groups
- Skills building groups
- Psychoeducational groups
- Medical consultations
- Exercise groups
Mass is offered in the Silver Spring, Maryland office on a regular basis, and on special holy days. Daily Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation are celebrated with local religious communities and/or local parishes.
Clients are also encouraged to attend local Twelve-Step meetings throughout treatment, if appropriate.
Monday, Wednesday & Friday
-
9:00 - 9:25 AM
Lectio Divina
-
9:30 - 10:30 AM
Group Therapy
Healing through collaborator support and feedback from others -
10:30 - 11:00 AM
Community Mass & Prayer
-
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Pathway to Healing
Education group for skills to avoid relapse and promote recovery -
12:00 - 1:00 PM
Lunch
-
1:00 - 1:50 PM
Individual Therapy
-
2:00 - 3:20 PM
Art Therapy
Self-expression for processing challenges and enabling healing -
3:30 - 4:00 PM
Goal Setting for Recovery
Mapping personal progress -
4:00 - 5:00 PM
Spiritual Integration
Discerning God’s work in the person, and integrating prayer into the healing process.
Tuesday & Thursday
-
9:00 - 9:30 AM
Centering Prayer & Meditation
-
9:30 - 10:20 AM
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Group
Identifying and challenging negative thought patterns to enhance coping mechanisms -
10:30 - 11:00 AM
Personal Prayer & Reflection
-
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Skills-Building for Relationships
Interactive group addressing habits, patterns, and belief systems that shape interactions -
12:00 - 1:00 PM
Lunch
-
1:00 - 1:50 PM
Psychoeducation Group
Methods for addressing stress effectively and improving problem-solving skills -
2:00 - 2:50 PM
Emotional Regulation Strategies
Skills for identifying, expressing, and coping with feelings in a healthy way -
3:00 - 3:50 PM
Adjunctive Appointments
Psychiatric evaluations, EMDR, and Biofeedback* -
4:00 - 5:00 PM
Guided Bodywork
Healing through movement & motion
*Psychiatry refers to a specialized treatment of mental health with medications. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is used in assessing the psychological impact of traumatic experiences. Biofeedback helps individuals become aware of body processes related to stresses (heart rate, chronic pain, muscle tension, etc.) to help mitigate challenges and foster health.
Therapeutic Modalities
Group therapy with other clients, facilitated by a licensed therapist, provides a supportive environment for making change. Regular individual psychotherapy sessions with a licensed therapist address both short-term needs and more complex struggles in a personalized way. These safe environments in which a person is allowed and encouraged to be their authentic self can be a potent venue for change, growth, and healing. They provides a valuable opportunity to hear and incorporate objective feedback about how they are perceived, and to learn healthier and more optimal ways of relating.
Group therapy focuses on:
- Interpersonal process
- Personal experiences in social interactions and perceptions by others
- Skills for successful social engagement and interactions
- Spiritual integration with mental health efforts
- Education fostering mental and spiritual growth
Individual therapy often focuses on:
- Unique needs of the person and steps to addressing mental health needs
- Spiritual integration with mental health efforts
- Coordination with other care elements: psychiatry, physical therapy, nutrition consultations, etc.
- Follow-up from adjunctive treatment modalities (e.g., EMDR, biofeedback, etc.)
Housing & Transportation
There are a variety of housing options in the Washington, D.C. area with accessibility to public transit, taxi, or ride share to our Silver Spring office suite. All housing arrangements are ultimately determined by the client and his or her superior.
- SLI has arrangements with religious houses for men and women in the area who provide housing and meals for our clients, as well as religious and spiritual community, including celebration of the Eucharist and Liturgy of the Hours. SLI clinicians are available to clients for telephone consultation as needed. We have found that this arrangement provides a helpful spiritual and social community experience for clients during treatment. Contact Michelle Short, Admissions Director, for details. The individual religious houses can provide specific cost details and coordinate all housing costs separately.
- Within walking distance of the SLI Silver Spring office suite is the Doubletree Hilton hotel on Georgia Avenue, where we have a discounted rate of $149 per night. Contact the hotel manager directly to get the rate. This hotel has a long-standing relationship with SLI.
- There are other local hotels also available for long-term stay.
Clients who already live in the Greater Washington, D.C. area may choose to commute to our office.
Clients may travel to and from our Silver Spring office suite by car, ride share, or public transportation. Free parking is available on-site. Our office is in a convenient downtown area, just a five-minute walk from the Washington D.C. Metro (subway) and other amenities.
More details about these options can be provided in anticipation of a client’s admission to the Emmaus Program. Contact Michelle Short, Admissions Director, for details.
Why Emmaus?
“The disciples told what had happened on the road, and how Jesus had been made known to them…” - Luke 24:35
This holistic care program, based out of our Silver Spring, Maryland location, remains the same professional, clinically- and spiritually-focused, therapeutic program that it has been for decades, now with a name that highlights a spiritual connection to the journey to wholeness presented in the Emmaus encounter.
The story of Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), is one of the most moving of all the resurrection narratives. Despondent disciples, distraught at the sudden and violent death of Jesus, are overwhelmed, getting out of town as quickly as possible. They are joined by a Stranger who, carefully, lovingly, brings meaning back to their desperate story and joy to their broken hearts. They do not recognize at first either the Stranger or their newly rekindled hope. They reach their destination, and a Stranger-turned-Friend is invited in with gratitude. Blessing … broken bread … renewed sight … resurrection hope … newfound purpose - leading to their journey in the wrong direction being reversed overnight, and the greeting of Good News: Christ is alive, here, and everywhere!
Emmaus forms the pattern of healing and care that is at the heart of the mission of Saint Luke Institute. The religious women and men, priests, deacons and others who enter our treatment programs come to us struggling with mental health needs. They encounter the dedicated clinicians and spiritual caregivers at SLI who carefully, lovingly, in the healing spirit of Christ, bring them back to balance, and to their true selves. They are offered therapeutic care, new skills, and renewed hope. These ministers share often in our SLI community Mass, and the blest, broken bread of Christ’s Presence. The process of mental and spiritual healing rekindles their faith and their ministerial hearts. They return to their work in the Church, having reversed their journey in the wrong direction, and discover that healing and new hope are possible.
Sustaining Progress in Care
The comprehensive and integrated approach of the Emmaus Program includes many aspects that support mental and spiritual healing.
A Diversity of Spiritual & Prayer Experiences
In the Emmaus Program, both caregivers and clients recognize that mental health wellness goes hand-in-hand with spiritual wellness. This integrated spiritual approach flows out of a centuries-old Catholic and broadly Christian tradition of spiritual accompaniment. It involves helping our clients to explore how God is at work in their lives, listen for the voice of the Spirit, discern life choices, and grow toward greater wholeness.
We ensure this integrated experience through:
- Regular spiritual integration sessions with an expert spiritual caregiver
- Days of reflection and retreat at an off-site retreat center – a time of prayer and outside input from vetted expert speakers on a variety of mental health or spiritual topics
- Mass is celebrated at the Silver Spring, Maryland office suite, and on special holy days. Mass is also available regularly at the locations where many of our clients reside, which also offer the Sacrament of Reconciliation
- Meditative and quiet spiritual experiences such as centering prayer and a prayerful reading of the Scriptures (Lectio divina), among other opportunities
- An on-site prayer and meditation room
Mass is also offered frequently at religious houses where many of our Emmaus Program clients reside, and among the many local Catholic parishes.
Medical Care & Support
Medical services are provided on site by the staff psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP), nurse, and internal medicine consultant. The PMHNP, in collaboration with a supervising psychiatrist, consults with clients regarding symptom management and medication needs
Clients meet weekly with the staff nurse to assess response to medication and monitor any ongoing health issues. The internist sees each client for an initial history and a physical with lab work, and then is on site weekly for client support. SLI has established referral relationships with local healthcare resources for the provision of specialized medical or other support services.
Fitness & Nutritional Support
Clients receive integrated fitness and nutritional counseling to maximize physical health. Fitness testing is provided by an on-site licensed physical therapist to assess strength, balance, flexibility, endurance, and mobility. Clients develop individual fitness plans designed to restore movement, relieve pain, improve strength, and prevent disability, if needed. Group fitness classes help to improve aerobic and strength conditioning.
Client assessments conducted at the end of treatment determine progress and inform discharge planning. Nutrition education groups explore the impact of nutrition on both physical and mental health. Clients may be referred for individual nutrition consultation with a dietitian when necessary to address any acute or chronic dietary concerns.
Continuing the Healing Journey
Discharged clients are encouraged to participate in Continuing Care, which is a muilti-year program that facilitates the reintegration process as the client returns to his or her ministry, diocese and/or community. This includes a re-entry workshop, phone or online support with a Continuing Care liaison, and ongoing workshops.
Each client is assigned a Continuing Care liaison, who helps them develop a contract outlining the behaviors that will help maintain and improve recovery.
Continuing Care workshops are held every six months for three years followed by two additional yearly workshops. Clients are followed in this way for a multi-year period and may request continued participation if there is a clinically indicated need.
Clients also may receive a free ongoing education subscription to Saint Luke Institute’s online education platform for mental health and wellness in ministry, SLIconnect.org upon request and authorization from their Continuing Care liaison.
Cost
We are committed to providing excellent care at a reasonable cost, and will assist our clients with receiving out-of-network coverage.
No clergy or religious is denied admission or service based on an inability to pay. Charity discounts for dioceses and religious institutes are available. Inquiries about charity discounts and finances should be directed to the Chief Operating Officer of Saint Luke Institute.
Privacy
We value your privacy. Our therapists follow the strictest confidentiality principles set forth by Maryland and federal law. We will discuss confidentiality with you on your first visit.
When a diocese or religious congregation entrusts a priest or religious to our care, we are able to provide regular updates about progress with the individual’s informed consent.
Contact
Accreditation & Licensure
Saint Luke Institute is accredited by The Joint Commission and our Emmaus Program is licensed by the State of Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The Joint Commission is an independent, objective evaluator of health care organizations. Accreditation from the Joint Commission is a “gold seal of quality” and a mark of distinction for patient care and safety. Saint Luke Institute has continuously achieved this standard of quality over many decades.
