Managing the Milieu with Montzerrat
As Ascend continues to grow and evolve to help as many people in our community as possible, we’re constantly adding new team members and positions to our organization. One of those essential positions is the Milieu Manager in our residential treatment facilities. Our current Milieu Manager at the Trails house is Montzerrat. Learn more about what she does in this role and how she enhances the lives of everyone around her!
What Is The Milieu Manager?
The Milieu Manager is the highest level of mentor we have at Ascend Healthcare. These team members interact with clients on a daily basis, while also managing the other mentors working on that shift. As a Milieu Manager, Montzerrat supports clients throughout the day, mentors the mentors on shift with her, and helps everyone build healthier relationships by modeling appropriate behaviors and boundaries.
Where Montzerrat Got Her Start
Montzerrat actually applied to join Ascend as a farm tech due to her many years of experience working with animals. However, after Dr. Niki interviewed her for this position, she saw that Montzerrat had an aptitude for working well with our clients as well. She recommended that Montzerrat also apply for the mentor position while working on the farm. Eventually, Montzerrat worked her way up to the Milieu Manager position.
Before joining the Ascend, Montzerrat was a site coordinator for after-school programs. She was responsible for creating lesson plans and schedules, as well as monitoring the efficiency of the classes. In this position, Montzerrat also honed her communication skills, keeping parents, teachers, and students connected.
Why Montzerrat Loves Ascend
Working at Ascend is rewarding for many of our team members, including Montzerrat. What she loves most about being involved with our organization is the insight she gets into each client’s journey. Watching as clients and their families progress to a healthier, happier place than when they arrived for treatment, Montzerrat sees the results of her hard work and dedication every day.
Sometimes, those results are pretty immediate. One of Montzerrat’s first successes at Ascend was helping a client learn how to read and write. Within weeks, this client was able to send their first legible letter home to their family, sparking renewed trust and support throughout the family system.
Why We Love Montzerrat
One of the reasons Montzerrat is such a valuable asset to the Ascend team is her commitment to giving 100% effort every time she comes into work. No matter what the day throws her way, Monzerrat is focused and dedicated to ensuring successful outcomes for clients, staff, and the animals on our farm.
A Day In Her Life
A typical day in Montzerrat’s life starts with warm smiles and prep work. She greets the entire milieu and gets them ready for their day. Montzerrat interacts with clients throughout the day, ensuring they feel seen and heard during times of stress. Soothing clients involves engaging with them during groups, checking in during downtime, and providing breaks as needed when sessions get emotional. From laundry and dishes to schoolwork and chores, Montzerrat is there for all of it.
Challenges at Ascend
Working with clients who struggle with a variety of mental health concerns means staff must set healthy boundaries and build a wholesome rapport with the clients. This can be difficult in intensely emotional situations when clients need to lean on someone. To ensure she’s supporting clients and their families while protecting her own mental health, Montzerrat employs many of the skills we teach clients.
Using these coping mechanisms and regulating skills with clients and on herself allows Montzerrat to provide the consistency and patience that clients need to thrive. As Montzerrat continues growing and learning in her career, she upholds some of the most important values Ascend strives to model, including providing a reliable, safe, and vibrant environment for everyone to succeed.
The Team at Ascend
Ascend has worked hard to build a community where everyone involved has a place to experience healthy growth. Montzerrat and her team are an amazing example of how Ascend functions and what we have to offer clients and their families. If you’d like to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes, take a look at a few other staff spotlights, like Outpatient Therapy with Maya or Psychiatric Care with Dami.
Ready to commit to a higher level of mental health support? Reach out to our team for an admissions assessment.
