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Children and Family Services
Attending to children and families struggling with mental health issues, trauma, or other behavioral or developmental health disorders is part of what we do here at West Michigan CMH.
The Children and Family Services team offers an array of treatment options to meet the needs of families with children in our community. We can address and serve any type of emotional disturbances or behavioral concerns. Our goal is to provide any support or services necessary to assist families and their children in developing a brighter future.
Outpatient Therapy
Mental Health Therapy and Counseling includes therapy or counseling designed to help improve functioning and relationships with children and families. Outpatient therapy may be the only services a child receives or may be part of a whole array of services that they receive—depending on what is most appropriate to the needs of the individual. Outpatient therapy may be provided to individuals or in groups. Outpatient therapy may be provided to a family as part of child and family services.
Care Management
A Care Manager, Supports Coordinator, or Supports Coordinator Assistant is a staff person who helps coordinate an individual plan of service with assistance from Clinical Service Planner or Independent Facilitator, they also help to ensure services are delivered based on an individual’s identified goals.
Medication and Health Services
- Medication and health services include a variety of different components designed to best meet the needs of each individual. Services begin with a comprehensive Health Assessment and Psychiatric Evaluation to best understand the unique symptoms and experiences your child has to determine if medications are likely to assist with your unique challenges.
- If medications are appropriate to your child’s needs, West Michigan CMH doctors and nurses will work with your child and family members to follow up regularly on medications and to see how the medications are affecting your child’s symptoms and overall health.
- Certain lab work may be completed to ensure that the medications needed are appropriate to the needs and symptoms of your family members and to ensure that there are no negative side effects for their overall health.
- West Michigan CMH health services team members will coordinate your family member’s medication treatment with their care manager and with primary care physician.
- Appointments with a psychiatrist may be in person or may occur via telepsychiatry. Telepsychiatry is where you meet with a psychiatrist over a secure television connection.
Peer Supports
Peer-Delivered and Peer Specialist Services: Peer Services are delivered by persons who have lived experience with a mental health condition. Peers are a valuable part of the care team at West Michigan CMH. They work with persons to help them achieve their recovery goals from the unique perspective of having their own mental health condition and recovery story. For children and families, both Youth Peer Support Services (YPS) and Parent Support Partner Services (PSP) are possible service options.
Wraparound
Is for children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance and their families that include treatment and supports necessary to maintain the child in the family home. These services may be delivered in a variety of settings including our office, your home, or the community.
Parent Management Training-Oregon (PMTO)
Parent Management Training-Oregon model (PMTO), is an evidence-based structured intervention to help parents and caregivers manage the behavior of their children. PMTO is delivered by skilled clinicians to assist parents and caregivers in managing the behavior of their children. PMTO promotes prosocial skills and cooperation and assist to prevent, reduce, and reverse the development and maintenance of mild to moderate to severe conduct problems in children. PMTO empowers parents as primary treatment agents to promote and sustain positive change in families.
Home-Based Services
Home-Based Services for Children and Families aims to resolve the issues which have prevented children from thriving in home, school, work or other social settings. Services are provided in the family home or in another community setting. Services are designed individually for each family, and can include such things as mental health therapy, crisis intervention, service coordination or other supports to the family. The workers in this program assist families on gaining access to community organizations, groups, and family members in providing collateral contacts. These services can be delivered in a variety settings, such as in home, the community, at school or in our offices, and our provided on an intense level which can range from two to twenty hours per week.
Infant Mental Health Services
As part of the Home-Based Services, Infant Mental Health services are provided to families that have concern and/or are identified to have a child between ages 0-3 with the possibility of being impacted by the issues/ illness afflicting the parents or other members in the family. IMH services are focused on helping the parent(s) or caregiver(s) and infant develop healthy attachments and relationships. These services are primarily carried out in the home or in our offices.