Behavioral Health Services

Clinical Evaluation

When families call  to enroll their child in counseling or other mental health services, they will be scheduled to meet with an intake staff for an assessment meeting.  Caregivers and kids will be asked to share their concerns and be involved in planning their mental health care from this initial meeting.

Psychiatric Services

Psychiatric and medical services are provided at two on-site clinic locations by Dr. Dilip Chandran and Dr. Mary Boyd, as well as our main site and through tele-health care.  These services may include clinical evaluation,  medication management, outpatient treatment services, and after hospitalization follow-up services.  Using medications to improve child outcomes is considered a last resort and only in combination with other treatments such as therapy.

Psychological Services

Psychological services are provided at our main clinic site or through tele-health care by licensed psychologists.  These services may include outpatient psychological evaluation and school readiness assessment.

Therapies 

All therapies employed by YHS are suitable for a particular age of youth and are effective in helping children and youth with mental health concerns increase their functioning. Male and female therapists, trained in a particular therapy guide each session.

Individual Therapies

These treatments require the child or teen to meet in weekly sessions at appointed times with their counselor for 30 to 60 minutes. At various times parents may be asked to participate.

• Child-Centered Play Therapy for children ages 2-6 years who must gain control over feelings and behaviors.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for youth, ages 7-18 years, with family problems, school problems, substance misuse and addiction, social relationships, depression and anger issues.
• Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for youth ages 3-18 years who have experienced a traumatic event such as sexual abuse, major illness, a home fire, witnessing violence or the death of a parent.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Child Traumatic Grief for youth ages 3-18 years, utilizes the treatment approach of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help children cope with the sudden or traumatic loss of a loved one.
• Music Therapy for children and youth of all ages uses the healing powers of music to accomplish goals within a therapeutic relationship.
• Seeking Safety is an intervention that is a nationally recognized evidence-based therapy for teens and adults who have experienced trauma or substance abuse or a combination of both.  This treatment can be provided individually or in groups to relieve stress and improve coping and functioning.
• Cognitive Processing Therapy is an evidence-based individual therapy to treat post- traumatic stress disorder and related symptoms in adults who have experienced traumatic events.  Youth Health Service is now offering this treatment to young adults through age 24 years who have experienced traumatic events, especially around relationship traumas such as dating and domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

Group Therapies

Group therapies allow 6-10 youth opportunities to learn new emotional and coping skills through appropriate and positive interactions with and among their peers. These therapies are led by trained and seasoned therapists and a co-leader.

• Dinosaur School is for children, ages 4-8 years, who are having problems with anger, defiance, impulsive and inattentive behaviors. It teaches them to interact positively with others at home and in school.
• Coping Cats for children ages 8-13 and C.A.T (for adolescents) therapies designed for the treatment of anxiety in children and adolescents. This treatment helps identify triggers for anxiety, emotions and helps the youth learn and use relaxation, stress management, and other coping skills.
• Music Therapy may be used with a group setting, using music interventions to accomplish shared group and individualized goals.
• Learned Optimism (6-12 years). A group therapy aimed to help identify negative thought patterns, challenge the pessimistic self, rebound from setbacks, maintain a balanced perspective of life, and stop self blame.
• Seeing Red & Anger Management. Seeing Red is a curriculum designed to help elementary and middle school-aged students better understand their anger so they can make healthy and successful choices and build strong relationships.
• Managing ADHD. This 6 session group therapy teaches children ages 8-12 years, who are experiencing ADHD symptoms resulting in deficits in social and emotional competence, to find acceptance, improve social skills, learn to solve problems and deal with conflict, to improve communication skills, how to share feelings appropriately, and how to express empathy and caring.
• Cleaning Up Your Act:  A six week brief outpatient treatment for teens who are using marijuana and other substances, consisting of a teen group and a parent group.  Teen sessions focus on reducing or stopping substance use through learning refusal skills, planning enjoyable drug free activities, learning coping skills for difficult situations, and how to handle relapses.  Parent sessions focus on education about addiction and how best to support their teen.
• Seeking Safety is an intervention that is a nationally recognized evidence-based therapy for teens and adults who have experienced trauma or substance abuse or a combination of both.  This treatment can be provided individually or in groups to relieve stress and improve coping and functioning.

Family Therapies

These therapies recognize how important the family and parents are to children. They encourage families to work together so that all members functioning is improved. Each of these therapies is led by a therapist seasoned in child and family therapy.

• Behavioral Family Therapy is oriented towards changing behavior of children by stressing the role of learning within the family and includes interventions such as identifying the behaviors to be changed, determining where the child and family is at any given time regarding the frequency and severity of the behavior, teaching the child and parent to monitor the behavior, determining with the child and family what will happen when behavior is managed well (rewards) and what will happen when behaviors are not managed well (punishments).  Behavioral plans or contracting for behavioral change in the sessions is an integral part of this treatment.
• Parent-Child Interaction Therapy is designed to improve the relationship between parents and their young child, ages 2-8 years. Children with challenging behaviors including aggression, defiance, disrespect, not listening, and anger outbursts can benefit.  This therapy is conducted with both the parent and child together.
• Structural Family Therapy works with children and families to challenge language and thinking patterns within the family and guiding families towards improved problem solving, and interactions with each other, and team building as a family.
• Filial Therapy encourages caregivers of young children (ages 2-5 years) to use the principles of child-centered therapy. The parent learns new skills to help their child and the child improves bonding and cooperation with the parent.

Trauma Center

In 2005, Youth Health Service, Inc. responded to a growing need in our communities- the need to accurately assess and treat childhood trauma.  YHS applied for and received a federal grant to open the Strength Builders Child and Adolescent Trauma Center and became part of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, a network made up of hospitals, universities, and community based treatment centers throughout the United States dedicated to the research and treatment of childhood trauma.

In West Virginia, about 1 in 4 children experiences a serious traumatic event before the age of 16.  These can have a tremendous impact on youth as well as their families.  There are numerous kinds of trauma including car accidents, animal attacks, serious injuries, violence in the home, school, or community, terrorism, physical or sexual abuse, serious illness and medical procedures, the unexpected death of a loved one, and life threatening natural disasters.

Some children may experience difficulties that indicate the need for additional support and treatment after a traumatic event.  These difficulties may include intense and ongoing emotional upset, aggression, depression, anxiety, behavioral changes, difficulty learning in school, problems maintaining relationships, difficulty eating and sleeping, aches and pains, withdrawal, substance abuse, dangerous behaviors, or unhealthy sexual activity among teens.

Youth Health Service was awarded federal funding in 2010 through the Office of Violence Against Women, US Dept of Justice, to address the treatment needs of teens and young adults through age 24 years who have experienced violence in their dating and marital relationships, sexual assault, and stalking.  This endeavor to expand the services of the trauma center, called the FOCUS Project, offers YHS the opportunity to work with other local programs who seek to prevent, identify, treat, and advocate for young people who have had or are having these experiences.  These issues have become so common that it is estimated that 1 in 3 young people will experience abuse in a dating or marital relationship and that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys experience sexual assault or abuse by their 18th birthday.  Without the proper support and intervention, young victims find it extremely difficult to change abusive patterns as they move into adulthood.

Expanded School Mental Health Program

In 2009, Youth Health Service began its Expanded School Mental Health service, called “Health Connections”.  Initially supported by funding awarded by the WV Bureau for Behavioral Health and Health Facilities, Division of Child & Adolescent Mental Health, Health Connections is now a fully developed program at YHS, and in addition to the previous funding, which continues, it is supported by agency, county and private funds. This program is being presented with financial assistance as a grant from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

Today, YHS therapists and social workers work collaborative with school personnel in  many schools throughout its service region including  Randolph, Barbour, Tucker, Pocahontas and Upshur Counties., Five schools are identified as full service expanded school mental health partners. They are Davis Thomas Elementary/Middle School, Tucker Valley Elementary/Middle School, Tucker County High School, Green Bank Elementary/Middle School, and Pocahontas County High School.

The program reduces barriers to learning, improves academic performance, improves attendance, and improves school functioning/behavior by mixing YHS’ behavior health services with student services typically provided in schools.  Further, is increases access to high quality, child and adolescent mental health services for youth in our service region.  Some of these services include individual and group therapies, supportive counseling, medication management, classroom support groups and prevention services which would otherwise be difficult to receive due to the rural area we reside.

It you would like further information on this program or would like to make a referral for services, please contact Youth Health Services @ 304-636-9450.

Family Specialized Services

Skilled family specialists trained in a social work model of service delivery provide a variety of mental health, social, and prevention services to children, teens and families, including case management, supportive counseling, parenting support and education, and school and community-based prevention education.

Parenting University

• The Nurturing Program:  A self-awareness and positive parenting program for parents of young children to improve self-awareness, empathy, discipline alternatives, age appropriate expectations, bonding and attachment.
• Parenting Wisely Child Workshop to improve parent’s active listening, use of “I” statements, non-directive play skills, ways to foster children’s social skills, communications with schools, use of time out, setting limits and consequences.
• Parenting Wisely Adolescent Workshop to improve parents communication with their adolescent and use of behavior management skills including contracting, assertive discipline, “I” statements, supervision of schoolwork and peer relationships, and positive role modeling.
• Parenting Wisely Foster and Residential Care Workshops to address issues such as peer aggression, defiance of authority, stealing, bullying, hygiene problems, privacy issues, vandalism, supervision, assertive discipline, and I statements.
• West Virginia Supreme Court Parenting Classes for Divorcing Parents

Transportation

Youth Health Services, Inc., sends vans to the schools, home, or daycare program to pick children up for their appointments and can assist the family in participating in their child’s services. YHS operates its programs and services, including transportation, without regard to race, color, or national origin.  For more information on our nondiscrimination practices and obligations or to file a complaint, please contact the Executive Director at 304-636-9450.

Project Focus

Youth Health Service, Inc. (YHS) was awarded federal funding in 2010 through the Office of Violence Against Women, US Department of Justice, to address the treatment needs of teens and young adults through age 24 years who have experienced violence in their dating and marital relationships, sexual assault, and stalking.

This funding provides YHS the opportunity to expand its already existing trauma services and treatment through its Strength Builders Child and Adolescent Trauma Center.  The YHS trauma center officially opened in 2005 after YHS became part of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, a national organization whose mission is to increase access to care and improve the quality of treatment for children and teens who have experienced traumatic events such as abuse and neglect, injuries and illnesses, car accidents, death of a parent or sibling, etc.

This expansion endeavor, called the FOCUS Project, offers YHS the opportunity  to work with other local programs who seek to prevent, identify, treat, and advocate for young people who are currently experiencing or have experienced in the past issues with dating and domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.  These issues have become so common that it is estimated that 1 in 3 young people will experience abuse in a dating or marital relationship and that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys experience sexual assault or abuse by their 18th birthday.

Without the proper support and intervention, young victims find it extremely difficult to change abusive patterns as they move into adulthood.  That is why Women’s Aid in Crisis (WAIC), the Davis and Elkins College Counseling and Wellness Center, the Health and Counseling Center at West Virginia Wesleyan College, and the Alderson-Broaddus College Counseling Services have joined with Youth Health Service to improve the identification and treatment of young people having these violent experiences.

WAIC, a non-profit, private corporation, has been providing services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking in this area of the state since it began in 1979.  In addition to their 31 years experience in providing these services to the target communities, WAIC is a member of the WV Coalition Against Domestic Violence and is a member of the WV Foundation for Rape Information and Services.  In the FOCUS project, WAIC is providing needed advocacy services to young people who are victims of violent relationships.

All of the college campuses are devoting their efforts at educating their students about safety and making sure steps are taken to make campus life as safe as possible.  Many of the colleges already team up with WAIC to provide an introductory prevention program for new freshman that promotes safe and healthy decision making.

Through the FOCUS Project, YHS, WAIC, and all the college counseling directors have been able to meet to share ideas and resources and support efforts being made to ensure student safety.  In June, YHS hosted a training on Seeking Safety, an intervention that is a nationally recognized evidence-based therapy for teens and adults who have experienced trauma or substance abuse or a combination of both.  This treatment can be provided individually or in groups to relieve stress and improve coping and functioning.  The training was well attended by nearly 50 counselors, psychologists, and mental health professionals in this area.

If you or someone you know has experienced relationships violence, sexual assault, or stalking or to find out more about treatment and resources available through the FOCUS Project, contact Peggy Johnson at YHS at 304.636.9450 or www.youth-health.org.

If you are a college student, you may also contact Susie Mullens at Davis and Elkins College at 304.637.1203, Chad Hostetler at Alderson-Broaddus College at 304.457.6320, or Mike Kuba at WV Wesleyan College at 304.473.8100.

*As a National Health Service Corps Site, we promise to serve all patients, offer discounted fees for patients who qualify, not deny services based on a person’s race, color, sex, national origin, disability, religion, sexual orientation or inability to pay, and we promise to accept insurance, including Medicaid, Medicare, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). This facility is a member of the National Health Service Corps.