Direct Clinical Services
Direct Clinical Services, coupled with mental health consultation and community education activities, are core Child Guidance Center services.
Our mental health services include:
Outpatient Therapy
Outpatient therapy is a clinical mental health service that may be a prevention or early intervention service, depending on the child and family's circumstances. Outpatient therapy is typically sought by families who believe their child is in need of mental health treatment or have been unable to successfully problem-solve on their own.
The Child Guidance Center uses evidence based therapy models with children and families. If needed, medication providers are available to prescribe medication if that is determined as a treatment need.
The number of sessions is determined by the needs of the child and family. Therapy is designed to help the child and family solve problems at an early stage.
Evaluation, Assessment, and Psychological Testing
Mental health evaluation and assessment services are sought by parents who need information and direction from a clinical child psychologist. These parents:
- Have an emerging concern about their child or are beginning to experience difficulty and are seeking an early solution to prevent more serious mental health problems
- Are distressed and need direction to the most appropriate treatment service
- Experience major or critical problems and are in need of an immediate intervention
Psychological evaluation and assessment services are time-limited and aimed at getting the family the guidance it needs to secure the most appropriate treatment service. This may include psychological evaluations or other types of formal assessment. Other consumers of evaluation and assessment services include the Juvenile Court, Family Court or Department of Human Services.
Psychiatric Services
The Orchard Place Child and Adolescent Psychiatric team provides psychiatric evaluation, diagnosis, specialty therapy referral, and medical treatment if needed. Referral for psychiatric services may occur after the intake assessment or after being seen by one of our Orchard Place therapists. Psychiatric Assessment includes evaluation of the child within the context of their family.
In most cases, individual and family therapy is sufficient for the complete care of the child. In other cases, the conditions that affect the child stem from trauma, genetic, and developmental conditions that may require additional care that a psychiatry provider can deliver, such as medications and lab monitoring. Medications can often help facilitate the psychotherapy, allowing the child to progress and make improvements.
The Psychiatry team is an important part of the multidisciplinary approach that Orchard Place uses to deliver quality care.
Functional Family Therapy
Functional Family Therapy is an evidence-based family intervention program for children and teens ages 10-18 and their families. All referrals come directly from the 5th Judicial District Juvenile Court Services and target youth who are involved in Juvenile Court action due to delinquency and at-risk behaviors. Treatment is provided in the home and services range from 8-30 sessions, depending on the family's needs.
Early Childhood Services
Early childhood services provide therapeutic support to children and families during challenging developmental phases and life transitions. For children experiencing social, emotional and behavioral problems, therapy may be beneficial, especially if the problems continue for more than six weeks and escalates or interferes with family life, education, child care or friendships.
Early childhood services focus on improving transitions and targets a wide range of needs including challenging behaviors, developmental delays, social difficulties, reactions to trauma, parent-child conflicts or attachment problems.