The Counseling Center programs/services begin at birth to help provide a healthy start, and continue on throughout their school years. Families must be included in the nurturing and problem solving process, thus our programs also provide support for parents, siblings and care-givers.

We Believe:

Youth and families do better when they express their thoughts and feelings to others in a friendly and cooperative atmosphere.

When families discover and utilize their strengths, they are more likely to succeed.

Families succeed when they have local support to whom they can turn when facing challenges.

Positive Beginnings:

Positive Beginnings is a comprehensive early childhood program which focuses on helping parents and caregivers provide healthy environments for their newborns, infants and toddlers.  In-home programming provides assistance to parents to help them get off to a positive start and obtain assistance from community resources when needed.

Early Childhood Community Support and Consultation provides case management services for children 3 to 5 years of age who are exhibiting behavioral problems.  Home visits give our Early Childhood Specialists the opportunity to work with parents/caregivers and children on special behavioral issues or other concerns.  Additionally, consultation services are available to day care centers, preschools and other systems serving young children.

Education & Support:

A variety of educational and support programs are available for youth and families.  Two of our major programs are:

Project: S.A.F.E. (Support, Assistance & Family Education) is a parent program that is designed to help families by providing information, guidance and support.  This program includes two parts: a 12-week Group Education Program and a home based Mentoring/Support Program. 

The instructional material used  in this program is based, in part, upon "The Incredible Years" curriculum developed by Carolyn Webster-Stratton, Ph.D.  which is designed to educate parents of children ages two through twelve.  The topics involved in this educational training are:

Childhood Development
Building Positive Relationships
Parenting Styles
Understanding Behavior
Effective Discipline
Child Rearing

Information is also available on other issues that effect families such as: divorce, domestic violence, substance abuse, stress, mental health, and developing positive networks.

Family Success Parenting Education Program - designed to help improve parenting skills.

Diagnostic, Assessment, Counseling, Groups, Psychiatric Care:

This group of services includes more traditional mental health services, providing assessment/evaluation and appropriate individual/family therapy to youth and their families.

Psychiatric care and medication monitoring for youth are available by psychiatrists and a psychiatric nurse who specialize in work with children and adolescents.

A variety of group therapy services are available for youth, including the Youth Insight Group, Youth and Family Challenge Group (focusing on youth with substance abuse problems),  and the Adolescent Sex Offender Treatment Program.  Specialized groups have focused on such topics as:

Developing Social Skills
Self-Esteem
Victims of Abuse
Anger Management

Project F.O.C.U.S.:

Project F.O.C.U.S. (Families Of Children Under Stress) is a comprehensive community support program designed to more effectively meet the needs of youth with severe emotional/behavioral disturbances and their families.  Youth Community Support staff work with youth and their families to assess family needs; provide direct interventions; coordinate services; advocate on behalf of the youth/family; monitor the youth in the home, school and community; provide education, support or crisis intervention services; and link/refer youth and their families to community resources.

This program is for Columbiana County youth with behavioral or emotional problems, who would benefit from case management, coordination of multiple services, and/or advocacy.  Such problems may be indicated by:

Developmental or learning problems
School difficulties
Not obeying school and/or home rules
Lack of social supports
The child's parents being overwhelmed by ongoing stressors and/or emotional problems
Risk of out-of-home placement

Families Together:

Families Together is an intensive home-based therapy and intervention program designed to stabilize families who are in serious crisis.  Emphasis is on enabling families to continue living together while resolving problems and managing stressors.  This program is jointly sponsored by the Columbiana County Juvenile Court and the Columbiana County Department of Job and Family Services.

For More information on any of these services, please contact:

Marcy Patton, LPCC
Director of Youth Community Support
Ext. 204
mpatton@colmhc.org

or

Todd Frampton, LPCC
Director of Client Services
Ext. 480
tframpton@colmhc.org