Our comprehensive and integrated treatment and support programs range from 24-hour emergency mobile crisis intervention to specialized child abuse treatment, victim recovery and support services, outpatient psychotherapy and psychiatric treatment, home-based psychotherapy, prevention services that provide family support and early intervention, and group homes for traumatized children. This array of services enables Wellpath clients to achieve the most enduring and optimal outcomes in their mental, physical and social well being.

CRISIS INTERVENTION AND VICTIM RECOVERY, TREATMENT AND SUPPORT SERVICES

Emergency Mobile Psychiatric Services
Emergency Mobile Psychiatric Services (EMPS) provide urgent care to children, adolescents and families in crisis.  Professional staff is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for intervention, counseling, information and referral services to help with suicidal, behavioral and other violent threats, loss of control, and traumatic experiences. For Crisis Services, call 211.

     Emergency Mobile Psychiatric Services Provide:

☼       Trained professional staff available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year

☼       Mobile intervention:

            - Mon.-Fri., 9am – 10pm

            - Sat., Sun., and Holidays, 1pm – 10pm

☼       Emergency mobile psychiatric services to children and adolescents, ages birth to 18, and their families

☼       Telephone counseling

☼       Crisis and suicide intervention

☼       Information and referrals

Child Victim Services
The Victim Assistance Program helps children deal with the emotional aftermath of witnessing or being a victim of a criminal act, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, witness to domestic violence and secondary victims of homicide.  In addition to therapeutic treatment, children are aided in obtaining information, community services and financial compensation.

Child Abuse Interdisciplinary Team
The Child Abuse Interdisciplinary Team (CAIT) is a group of professionals working together to investigate and prosecute cases where child sexual abuse or serious physical abuse is alleged or suspected. Our team-oriented approach coordinates the efforts of all professionals involved in the investigation and prosecution process of child abuse, including but not limited to, the police, DCF, prosecutors, treatment providers and medical professionals.  When additional services are required, contacts are made with appropriate providers and programs.

 

OUTPATIENT SERVICES

Outpatient Services help children overcome a broad range of difficulties, including behavioral, emotional and learning problems, anxiety, depression, suicidal and homicidal thoughts, developmental delays, substance abuse and family relationship problems. Our services are specialized, evidence-based treatment models for trauma, suicidal behavior, and grief. These include individual, group and family therapy, parent guidance, case management, psychiatric evaluation, consultation and medication therapy, as well as overall advocacy for clients.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is designed for children and adolescents who have difficulty managing their emotions. It is aimed at changing the typical behavior patterns of emotionally challenged children and adolescents to decrease self injurious behaviors and emotional vulnerability while improving their ability to manage daily stressors.

DBT assumes that children and adolescents want to feel better and have a better quality of life. It is a combination of cognitive and behavioral therapies that teaches the child to control emotions by developing a sense of self-acceptance and awareness.

DBT Focuses on Four Sets of Skills

• Mindfulness Meditation Skills. These skills center on learning to observe, describe and participate in all experiences (including thoughts, sensations, emotions, and things happening externally in the environment) without judging these experiences as “good” or “bad”. These are considered “core” skills that are necessary in order to implement the other DBT skills successfully.

• Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills. The focus of these skills is learning to successfully assert your needs and to manage conflict in relationships.

• Distress Tolerance Skills. Distress tolerance skills promote learning ways to accept and tolerate distress without doing anything that will make the distress worse in the long run (e.g., engaging in self-harm).

• Emotion Regulation Skills. Participants learn to identify and manage emotional reactions.  

The program lasts approximately four months and includes weekly individual therapy, along with a weekly multi-family skills group

Individual Therapy: Through a combination of dialectical, validation, and problem-solving strategies, individual therapy helps clients to reduce maladaptive behaviors and responses and replaces them with more skillful responses.

Multi-Family Skills Group: A skills training group for children and parent(s)/caregivers(s) which combines lecture, discussion and practice exercises to develop and refine skills in mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and problem solving.

Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

TF-CBT is designed to help with traumas related to sexual and physical abuse, domestic and community violence, unexpected death of a loved one, natural disaster and war.

Treatment is provided to children between the ages of 4 and 18 by a professional who has received training in TF-CBT. Treatment typically lasts between 12 to 16 sessions that include:

• Individual sessions for child or adolescent

• Individual sessions for parents

• Conjoint sessions between parents and child or adolescent

Numerous studies have demonstrated that TF-CBT is more effective in helping children overcome trauma than other therapeutic interventions. TF-CBT is specifically designed to:

• Assist the child or adolescent to develop coping strategies for traumatic stress reactions

• Reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, or acting out behavior which are common in children exposed to trauma

What can my Child Expect from TF-CBT?

• Learning that the trauma was not his or her fault, and that he or she is not the only one who has survived a similar traumatic event.

• Identifying feelings and learning how to manage them

• Learning how to relax and tolerate trauma reminders

• Identifying negative thoughts that cause depression and anxiety

• Learning how to replace negative thoughts with more helpful thoughts

• Learning how to resolve problems

• Learning safety skills

An Important goal in treatment is to provide the child an opportunity to discuss details about the trauma in a supportive and nurturing environment. In developing their trauma narrative, the child's brain begins to replace traumatic memories with more helpful thoughts about the trauma.  In time, these powerful traumatic reminders begin to lose their impact on the child and become less frequent.

INTENSIVE HOME-BASED SERVICES

Intensive In-Home Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Services
Intensive In-Home Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Services (IICAPS) help children and families in crisis through home-based individual and family therapy, 24-hour crisis response, parent guidance, school consultations and other methods.  Children and families receive a comprehensive assessment of treatment needs, including psychological and psychiatric evaluation.  A treatment plan tailored to the child and family is developed and implemented by a two-person team of mental health professionals.

Functional Family Therapy
Functional Family Therapy (FFT) is home-based therapeutic intervention that assists families with children who have high-risk behaviors. FFT focuses on improving school performance and behavior at home, as well as reducing negativity and blaming in families, by improving communication to provide hope among family members. 

PREVENTION AND EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES

Child FIRST

Child FIRST is an innovative program, that provides home-based therapeutic intervention and hands on connection to community resources for children ages birth-six and their families.  Child FIRST focuses on at-risk children and their families to decrease the incidence of serious emotional disturbance, developmental and learning problems, and abuse and neglect.  Children and families receive a comprehensive assessment.  The two person Child FIRST team works with the family to develop and implement a treatment plan tailored to the needs of the child and family.  The Child FIRST team provides home-based  dyadic therapy for the child and parent, parent guidance, family therapy, and collaborates closely with community providers to address immediate needs of children and families and help stabilize the home environment. 

Early Childhood Consultation Partnership
The Early Childhood Consultation Program (ECCP) identifies and meets the social, educational and emotional needs of children from birth through age five.  Consultation in early childhood settings is provided by a mental health professional to help care for the needs of young children.

Family Enrichment Services

The Department of Children and Families refers families residing in the Greater Waterbury area who are identified as being at risk for abuse and neglect. A Family Enrichment Specialist provides weekly home visits for a period of four months. The Family Enrichment Specialist provides information on child development, improving parenting skills, support, advocacy and assistance with obtaining community resources.

Nurturing Families Network
The Nurturing Families Network is a continuum of programs for expectant and new parents who deliver at St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, and is designed to offer parenting information, support and guidance to increase the stability of the family and to improve parenting skills.  These services and support mechanisms reduce the risk for child abuse and neglect.  Funding for these programs is provided by the Children’s Trust Fund.       

• Nurturing Group

The program follows the Nurturing Families curriculum as developed by Stephen Bavolek, Ph.D. and meets for nine weeks.  The goal of the program is to provide support and education on prenatal development and health, enhance parenting skills and reduce social isolation.

• Nurturing Connections

Volunteers make weekly follow-up phone calls and provide educational material through monthly mailings.  First-time parents receive follow-up support for approximately six months after birth.

• Home Visiting

A Home Visitor provides home-based services that start prenatally, and will continue working with a family until the child’s fifth birthday as needed.  The Home Visitor also provides assistance with obtaining community resources and information pertaining to prenatal care, well childcare, bonding, feeding, parenting skills and child development.

Care Coordination
Care Coordination is a family-focused, child-centered model that assists in managing multiple community services.  Emphasis is placed on the current strengths and needs of the family.  A culturally competent Care Coordinator uses knowledge of community services to advocate for the family and assist them in developing an individualized service plan.  The family invites other family members, neighbors and other supporters, along with service providers, to participate in “Child Specific Team” meetings to ensure a successful outcome. A Family Advocate is also available to provide support.

School-Based Health Services
School-based health services promote the social, emotional, physical, and academic well being of students.  Services include individual, group and family therapy, as well as early intervention, so that students are able to overcome roadblocks to meeting educational objectives.

THERAPEUTIC GROUP HOMES
Paladin House and Valiant House offer comprehensive treatment services on a 24/7 basis in a home-like environment to boys between the ages of 9-13. Wellpath offers a safe place for these traumatized boys to heal as they learn to live as responsible members of family and community.