Healthy Ways
OHIO
The National Youth Advocate Program (NYAP) partners with children, youth, and families to deliver innovative, community-based services that provide safety, healing, and growth. Healthy Ways is a strength-based, trauma-informed program designed to support children exhibiting problematic sexually reactive behaviors and their families.
Children served by Healthy Ways experience challenges with understanding personal boundaries and safe ways to relate to others. In many cases, these behaviors are connected to past experiences of trauma, which can include sexual abuse or exposure to sexually explicit events or content. Our program meets children and families with compassion and understanding, focusing on what they need for safety and success.
Who We Serve
Healthy Ways serves children ages 5 to 11 who are exhibiting problematic sexually reactive behaviors. Families are centrally involved in treatment to ensure long-term success. Children served are closely supported as they learn and practice appropriate boundaries and resolve any underlying trauma.
Why Healthy Ways Is Effective
Children who experience problematic sexually reactive behaviors are often responding to their own trauma and require specialized, developmentally appropriate services. Healthy Ways is effective because it provides early, trauma-informed intervention in community-based settings.
Through therapeutic services, active family involvement, and individualized prevention planning, children learn healthy boundaries, emotional regulation, and coping skills that help keep themselves, their families, and their communities safe. Our approach supports healing, strengthens relationships, and helps children and families build a hopeful path forward.
Healthy Ways Services
Healthy Ways helps children and families feel safe and supported through our compassionate, practical approach to changing sexually reactive behaviors. Our services include, but are not limited to:
Families are contacted within 24-48 hours of referral
Individualized risk assessment and crisis planning
Personalized safety plans designed around each child’s strengths and needs
Culturally responsive, strengths-based assessment
Guidance for families on caring for children experiencing sexually reactive behaviors, with a focus on understanding behavior, responding with empathy, and meeting underlying needs in healthy ways
Trauma-informed therapy that helps children process experiences and build coping skills
Hands-on, experiential activities that encourage learning through doing
Play-based support that allows children to express themselves in age-appropriate ways
How Services Are Delivered
Services are tailored to each child and family. Typically, we provide weekly parent-child sessions in a local office, along with crisis support and ongoing safety monitoring.
