Nulton Diagnostic and Treatment Center offers two levels of personalized care for families who need the expert guidance of our psychological team.
Confidential office-based outpatient therapy provides extra support to families as they manage and work through life’s ups and downs. These counseling services are rooted in wellness, recovery and open communication between patients and our team members. That means treatment won’t drag out or continue indefinitely. Instead, patients know upfront that their treatment will have a specific beginning, middle and an end. Contact us for more information or to schedule a confidential consultation.
Family Based Mental Health Services are short-term, intensive team delivered services designed to reduce the need for out-of-home placement or hospitalization for children and adolescents age 2-20 diagnosed with a mental health disorder or emotional disturbance. The program is available to members who receive medical assistance and is provided in the home and community settings. FBMHS involves assessment, planning, support, and transition to aftercare programs to ensure continuity of care. FBMHS provides individual and family therapy, which aims to strengthen the family system through an Eco-Systemic Family Therapy model which utilizes various therapeutic interventions to teach coping skills, parenting skills, strengthen relationships and behavior modification. Families will use their strengths to overcome their difficulties together.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of a severe emotional or mental illness requires the input and expertise of several health care professionals, including your family doctor, psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health specialists. Once a diagnosis is confirmed, your child can be referred to the Family Based Mental Health Service program. As soon as that occurs, our treatment team will reach out to the family to begin the healing process.
A qualified professional, such as a family doctor, social worker or school administrator, can refer families to the program. Families can also refer themselves. If a diagnosis has not been made prior to the referral, our team can help families access the services they need to determine if their child suffers from a severe emotional or mental illness and is eligible for this intensive program.
Treatment
As part of the Family Based Mental Health Services program, confidential treatment will begin once a diagnosis has been made and clear goals are in place. Under the direction of a specially-trained two-person treatment team, families can receive in-home care for up to 32 weeks. Therapy can include:
- Structural Family Therapy to understand the relationships between family members and re-establish hierarchy in the family
- Cognitive Behavioral Family Therapy to understand how thoughts, rather than people or events, can impact how families interact
- Psychoeducation Therapy to help clients and families understand the mental illness of the child and learn ways to deal with it
- Rationale Emotive Therapy to help families identify self-defeating beliefs and help them overcome them
- Solution-Focused Therapy that focuses on the strengths and opportunities of each family member instead of personal weaknesses
- Behavioral Modification that recognizes and rewards appropriate behaviors
- Grief Therapy to help families identify and manage the emotions that come with any feelings of loss
In addition, treatment can include education on parenting, anger management, conflict resolution and self-care, as well as the child’s specific mental disorder.
We also provide child-focused case management services. For example, we keep in constant contact with all of your child’s caregivers or service providers to make sure every member of the child’s care team is on same page. This can include physicians, probation officers, Mental Health and Mental Retardation (MH/MR) representatives, Therapeutic Support Staff (TSS) and others. We can also help expand your support system by linking you to community resources, including transportation, child care and other services.
The team has a flexible schedule and can accommodate evening and weekend appointments. Emergency crisis service is available 24 hours a day.
Resources
Members of our team can answer questions you may have about the Family Based Mental Health Service program and what to expect as your child moves through it. For more information about severe emotional or mental health issues affecting children, please visit:
