Child, Adolescent and Family Programs
CLM provides the area's most comprehensive array of mental health care for children and their families. Our specialists work with children experiencing serious emotional difficulties such as depression, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, autism, disruptive behaviors, substance use disorders, and trauma associated with emotional, physical or sexual abuse. Emotional health impacts each area of a child's life including family, school and social relationships. CLM encourages a "wrap-around" approach that, whenever possible and necessary, pulls together other community resources to address the interconnected areas of a child's life. CLM is committed to an outreach approach that provides many services to children in their home, at school or in other community settings.
As our region’s designated community mental health center, CLM provides services for the towns of Atkinson, Chester, Danville, Derry, Hampstead, Newton, Pelham, Plaistow, Salem, Sandown and Windham. Click for a complete list of NH’s Community Mental Health Centers. Click for NH Mental Health Regions map.
Child, Adolescent and Family Services include:
Healthy emotional well-being is essential to children and important to their family, social and academic success. Our specialists are skilled and experienced at working with children as early as pre-school age through adolescence and their families. Therapy services provided include:
Individual - Our initial goal of therapy starts with building trust with each child and teen so that we can communicate in a safe setting and form a healing partnership. Through this partnership, we create a relationship where it is acceptable to listen, share, challenge emotions and experience difficult emotions and to attempt new, healthier ways of living.
Group - Group therapy offers individuals a safe and comfortable place where they explore problems and emotional issues, gain insight into their own thoughts and behavior, and gain understanding of behaviors and offer suggestions and support to others. In addition, individuals who have a difficult time with interpersonal relationships can benefit from the social interactions that are a basic part of the group therapy experience.
Family - Families function best when there are appropriate hierarchies and boundaries. When difficulties arise between family members, family therapy can be effective in re-establishing roles, boundaries and healthy communication. Family therapy offers each family member a place to work together and gain understanding of each person's role in the family and improve communication.
Our Targeted Case Managers assess the needs of the client and family in order to provide the most effective services. They work with outside agencies as appropriate which may include your child's school support team, community supports, legal supports, or your child's medical care provider. They provide an effective communication bridge between your child's treatment team and outside agencies.
Evaluation - Our team of psychiatrists and nurse practitioners are available to evaluate the need for medication or explore any medical issues that may impact mental health symptoms.
Consultation - Our medical staff works closely with our clinicians to ensure that your treatment is comprehensive and well -coordinated.
Management - Whenever possible, we will work with your primary care provider to ensure integration between your mental health and medical care.
Evidence-based Practices (EBP) are models of treatment or best practices proven effective at treating mental illness and improving clinical outcomes.
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Trauma –Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF_CBT) is designed to help 3- to 18-year-olds and their parents overcome the negative effects of traumatic life events such as child sexual or physical abuse. TF-CBT aims to treat serious emotional problems such as post-traumatic stress, fear, anxiety, and depression by teaching children and parents new skills to process thoughts and feelings resulting from traumatic events.
Helping the Non-Compliant Child
HNC is a training program that teaches parents to change maladaptive patterns of interaction with their children. The program is designed for parents of children ages 3 to 8 who have noncompliance or other conduct problems, but it also has been used with other high-risk populations of children and parents. A major goal of the program is to break the coercive cycle by establishing a positive, mutually reinforcing relationship between parent and child. The program consists of a series of parenting skills designed to help the parent break out of the coercive cycle of interaction with the child by increasing positive attention for appropriate child behavior, ignoring minor inappropriate behaviors, providing clear instructions to the child, and providing appropriate consequences for compliance (positive attention) and noncompliance (time out).
RENEW (Rehabilitation for Empowerment Natural Supports Education and Work)
RENEW uses a person-centered approach to engage transition age youth (ages 16 and older) with mental illness to help them identify life goals and provide structure and supports to help them work towards achieving life goals.
MATCH (Modular Approach to Therapy for Children)
MATCH is a scientifically proven counseling program for children, teenagers, and families. Unlike most specific counseling programs, which focus on a single problem (e.g., anxiety only), MATCH is designed for multiple problems related to anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and disruptive conduct, including the conduct problems associated with ADHD. The MATCH program can give parents and their child a specific set of scientifically proven tools to help manage these problems that come up at home, at school, or with friends. Therapists who use MATCH have specialized strategies to customize each treatment to the family. MATCH is accompanied by the Treatment Response Assessment for Children (TRAC), a user-friendly, web-based program that tracks how kids and families are responding to counseling on a weekly basis. TRAC allows the therapist to continually adjust and refine the counseling program in real time, in response to the progress of the family.
CLM provides comprehensive evaluations and treatment for substance use disorders. Services start with a thorough interview, evaluating issues related to substance use/misuse and then recommendations for treatment are developed. Services are available to address issues related to substance use/misuse through individual or group counseling to develop coping skills and strategies and a relapse prevention plan in order to work towards, and maintain, sobriety. Court ordered evaluations are also provided for individuals who are involved with the legal system and required to receive a thorough evaluation of substance use issues by a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LADC).
Functional Support Services (FSS) are interventions that may be provided to individuals meeting eligibility criteria. Functional Support Services are consumer driven goals that focus on recovery and are prescribed in their individual service plan/treatment plan. Functional Support Services must be provided in the community and not in the mental health center.
Functional Support Services include the following four services:
- Therapeutic Behavioral Services
- Family Support Services
- Medication Support
- Crisis Intervention Services
Therapeutic Behavioral Services
Therapeutic Behavioral Service objectives are to develop, reinforce, problem solve, apply skills and strategies to reduce symptoms and behaviors that impede or impair the consumer's functioning and complete their individual goals.
Family Support Services
Family Training and Counseling (FTC) services are interventions provided to family members, care givers and significant others in the consumer's life that supports the management of the consumers mental illness.
Family Supports primary objective is to increase, educate and promote the consumer's resiliency and recovery.
Medication Support
Medication Training and Support (MTS) is an intervention provided to support the consumer in maintaining their medication regimen. Medication Support educates and problem solves to develop strategies for incorporating medication into the consumer's daily routine as prescribed by the clinical/medical record to promote management of their mental illness.
Crisis Intervention Services
Crisis Intervention is delivered on an individual basis and is designed to improve acute crisis behaviors and symptoms that jeopardize the consumer's ability to remain in the community.
The Wellness Works program supports youth ages 13 and older and their families with learning the importance of wellness and applying skills to nurture a healthy mind and body. Our Wellness Coach helps to foster the minds of our youth through physical activities, balanced eating, connecting with positive influences and increasing energy naturally to reach personal wellness goals.
The New Hampshire legislature in 1993 enacted RSA 458-D, establishing a pilot project to offer the Children First program. Initially offered in four counties, the program has expanded statewide. Behavioral Health Network (BHN) coordinates the Child Impact Program in all ten NH counties. BHN works closely with the NH Judicial branch to help parents, kids and the courts in providing information regarding the impact of divorce and separation on children.
To Register for the Child Impact Program, click here
The Young Adult program supports and guides youth ages 18-24 through the formative years of their lives in search of personal success. The program assists struggling youth become successful by supporting and teaching values and skills necessary to function independently and achieve their personal goals. The goal of the program is to support and guide high risk youth in making a seamless transition into adulthood. Due to symptoms and behaviors that hinder their success, the Young Adult program will create an individualized plan that is tailored to meet each youth's needs, interests and goals.
View our Young Adult Program video here https://youtu.be/ch9wMI0Uqsg
Clinical staff in our Child and Adolescent program have completed specialized training to identify and address First Episode Psychosis (FEP). FEP refers to the first time someone experiences psychotic symptoms or an episode and typically occurs in adolescents and young adults ages 15-25. An individual experiencing a first episode may not understand what is happening. The symptoms can be highly disturbing and unfamiliar, leaving the person confused and distressed. Early intervention is important as a delay in treatment or left untreated the greater the disruption to the person’s family, friends, studies, work and life. Learn More About FEP
Groups for Children and Adolescents
CLM’s Child, Adolescent and Family services regularly offers a number of psycho-therapeutic and skill-building groups focused on helping children and teens attain success. Led by children’s clinicians, the groups are geared to specific age groups and cover a variety of topics including anxiety disorders, anger management, self-esteem, social skills, substance use, grief/loss, dialectic behavioral therapy, emotional regulation. Being a part of a therapeutic group can be a profound, powerful and helpful experience for children and teens.