Common Ground Is A Community Support Services Program

“This social service delivery system was initially created for the mental health system in order to better meet the needs of children and families entering the social welfare system. As part of the development of this platform in one of their counties, they cataloged all of the social services resources in that area” (Widom, 2001).

The opportunity of talking to a Professional Mental Health Counselor was very informative on October 19, 2015, I had a chance to meet K.W. she is a License Professional Counselor in Mental Health that holds her (LCPC) for the last ten (10) years. Ms. K.W. also holds her Therapist license in the arena of counseling for the last past six (6) years were her services of care is Mental Health, and Addiction Counseling were her population is men and women that struggles with addiction problems and mental health that is called co-occurring disorder in an outpatient setting.

The need for a substance abuse recovery home in Starke County, Indiana is a need that is unmistakable in the county based on the hefty number of individuals that suffer from substance abuse and dependency in the county which is clearly displayed by the recent number of crimes that are related to or involve illicit and prescription drugs. In attempt to meet this need and create an opportunity for individuals suffering from substance abuse and dependency to receive local substance abuse treatment in a recovery home the proposal will be presented to several stakeholders within the Starke County community. The term stakeholder “refers to those people who are affected, or could be affected, by the service” (Canadian Career Development Foundation, n.d.) that is being proposed. The proposal for the creation of a substance abuse recovery home will be presented to five key stakeholders including Ms. Becky Anspach the director of Community Services of Starke County, Starke County Community Corrections director of operations Mr. Robert Hinojosa, Ms. Dee Lynch the director of the Indiana Department of Child Services of Starke County, Porter Starke Services facilitator of intensive outpatient program treatment (IOP), and Ms. Rhonda Adcock the director of Starke County CASA.

Social workers in the mental health wing of the Woodstock General Hospital (WGH) are an integral part of an interdisciplinary mental health team that provide patient-centered care through both inpatient and outpatient services. They offer capacity-building program interventions to individuals, couples and families by providing single session walk-in counselling, groupwork, psychiatric evaluation, crisis intervention and inpatient support as well as long term counselling. There are specialized outpatient supports including early psychosis intervention, programs for eating disorders, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, programs for children and youth as well as programs specific to geriatric mental health. In

The mental health professional I interviewed was Carol McClelland of Freedom House Recovery Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Carol has worked with Freedom House for a year as the directory of outpatient services and is licensed as a LPC, LPCS, LCAS, CCS, and MA. Carol’s job requires her to be responsible for the direct oversight of all clinical operations and clinical integrity for outpatient services at Freedom House. The hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm, along with a crisis and detox center that is available for contact 24/7. Carol has plenty of experience in the mental health field, such as working as a dual diagnosis/substance abuse outpatient therapist, working with the severely mentally ill, working as a criminal justice outpatient therapist, and also working in a methadone clinic. She chose this career after her experiences in working with mental health, and her extensive education in psychology and counseling. Carol stated that outpatient services was the most interesting out of her job experiences, so when she was offered the job at Freedom House, she accepted.

This clinician wants to open his own dual diagnosis center with substance abuse disorders and mental health disorders. Many individuals with substance abuse issues also suffer from mental health issues. This counselor suffers from the disease of substance abuse and has made it his lifelong goal to help individuals with these types of issues.

Successfully, Community Prevention Partnership of Berks County agency started providing services in 1992; it was awarded with a federal grant from the department of Mental Abuse Health Services Administration’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. In 1995, the agency gained its 501(c) (3) status and fiscal program operations. Currently, the organization operates with funding as grant or agreements from a variety sources, like the Office of Family Assistance, Department of Public Welfare/Office of Child Development & Early Education, Council on Chemical

The role of the social worker in this setting is to perform duties as an informed clinician based on evidence based practice to provide individualized case management to all clients. The social worker will complete a comprehensive intake assessment which includes demographics of the client, address presenting problem, and a risk assessment. Client’s also receive mental health screenings and individual and group counseling to gain new coping skills and address any triggers to prevent relapse utilizing interventions as CBT and Motivational Interviewing. The social worker will discuss limits of confidentiality and a signed informed consent from the client to receive services.

In June 2014, I registered with the North Carolina Substance Abuse Professional Practice Board for certification as a Certified Substance Abuse Counselor, and began private supervision. I passed the state examination the following year. Through discussions with my colleagues and professional supervisor, as well as interactions with university professors, I developed a desire to provide advanced counseling through social work practice. I believe social work provides the best means to provide healing for the whole person in their environment.

While doing research on this community, it became apparent that the public has access to many different social services that have helped the residents achieve wellness (Abra et al., 2016), including Edgewood Health Network, a rehabilitation centre for addictions and mental health. However, there is no support for people who are currently active drug users or have relapsed (Edgewood Health Network, n.d). Studies have shown that relapsed users have an increased risk of

The Council on Recovery is a Non-Profit Organization which serves the population of people whose lives are affected by addiction, whether it is their addiction or someone else’s. Their mission is “To keep our community healthy, productive and safe by providing services and information to all who may be adversely affected by alcohol, drugs and related issues” (Council on Recovery). To work towards this mission, they offer a wide range of services such as individual and family counseling, case management services, educational and prevention services, community outreach, supportive services as well as screenings for state funded inpatient drug and alcohol treatment facilities. Many of the Council’s employees are based in their main office, but there are also more than 50 clinicians who are based in MHMRA facilities across the city.

WestCare Illinois’ Impact Program is a not- for-profit organization that provides an integrated substance use and mental health disorder treatment program in order to serve 145 men in the Cook County Department of Corrections (CCDOC) on a daily basis (WestCare Illinois Programs, n.d.). The Impact Program integrates cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), trauma intervention, case management, and reentry services (WestCare Illinois Programs, n.d.). WestCare is on three decks within CCDOC and serves around 44 clients on each deck. The clients are court mandated to the Impact program because of a drug involved criminal charged (WestCare Illinois Programs, n.d.). During intake, 32% of the clients’ reported that their primary substance of misuse

Boston Medical Center is an medical center that has added the cost of social workers, psychiatric nurse practitioners and patient navigators on a trial basis. The reason for this investment is to help the medical center succeed in future value-based contracts, or as an accountable care organization, by allowing it to share in any savings that accrue from improving outcomes and reducing costs Klien, & Hostetter, 2014). In contrast, Greenleaf is a stand-along facility in the community of Valdosta, Ga., and enjoys a fairly symbiotic relationship with South Georgia Medical Center. Both Boston Medical Center and Greenleaf offer a wide variety of inpatient and outpatient services for behavioral health. However, I would prefer Greenleaf because it

PostText2: Call (330) 723-9600 to schedule a diagnostic assessment and learn about our various outpatient services.

It is part of a larger mental health care network called Mind Springs Health. The programs available through Mind Springs and West Springs are extremely helpful for people who are at risk, however, these services are limited by the number of health professionals and beds available at the facilities. Laura Boies is a therapist in the Mind Springs network. In her experience, she has seen numerous patients who have attempted or seriously considered suicide. Mrs. Boies believes that the majority of people who go through the Mind Springs programs go on to live healthy lives. It is uncommon to see a program as effective as Mind Springs in a small town like Grand Junction, but it is clear from the current rate of suicide that our town is still in need of more services like this, or simply an expansion of Mind