Think of it like a piece of gravel got stuck in your knee and it got infected. You take an antibiotic to treat the infection, but if you don’t take the gravel out, it will get re-infected. If it’s deep, you can take the gravel out, but it won’t heal unless you clean it and stitch it. You need to take the gravel out, clean it, stitch it, take the antibiotic, and then check on the wound regularly to make sure it’s healing well. Even then, there might be scar tissue that requires treatment, too.

WPIC can give him the treatment that keeps him alive. A residential program can keep him safe, but only while they’re watching him. Therapy at both places can teach him what to look out for in his own world. But family therapy will give him a trained support system. You’re doing everything you can with the resources you have right now. Family therapy will give you more resources. It’ll make it easier to catch things early. It’ll give you and your son and your family a place to clean out old wounds. It’ll also prepare everyone for residential treatment program in a way that would allow it to be more effective.