The mission of the Division of Mental Health Programs is to provide sensitive and responsive community-based services to adults, children, and families within a supportive environment and to enable individuals and families to achieve their own identified goals. The agency staff includes psychiatrists, psychologists, registered nurses, psychiatric nurse practitioners, licensed clinical social workers, case managers, mental health counselors, certified and licensed drug and alcohol counselors, and training interns. NKHS staff members also provide consultation services and educational programs for community organizations. The agency's staff of professionals is dedicated to improving the quality of life for adults and children with serious mental illness or severe emotional disturbances, as well as for those who struggle with addictive disorders. We are committed to ensuring access to an integrated network of effective and efficient service that promotes client rights, responsibility, rehabilitation and recovery.
NKHS is committed to serving the mental and behavioral health needs of the community. We recognize that psychiatric and substance abuse disorders tend to be persistent and recurrent, and that co-occurrence of these disorders occurs with sufficient frequency in both systems that a continuous and integrated approach of assessment and treatment is required, regardless of the location of initial clinical presentation.
Outpatient services for adults who suffer from a variety of psychological and emotional symptoms.
Crisis intervention services including diagnostic assessment and treatment, screening for hospitalization and crisis counseling.
24-hour emergency services to all residents of the tri-county area.
Elder care clinician program. In-home mental health assessment, counseling, and case management services for elders - a program provided in collaboration with the Area Agency on Aging.
Assertive Community Treatment (ACT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) plus case management and psychiatric services.
Transitional Housing
Intensive psychiatric, case management and counseling services for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness.
Short-term care in the community for individuals at risk of psychiatric hospitalization.
Employment services for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness who want to enter or re-enter the workforce.
Consumer-managed self-help support and recreational groups
Outreach specialists through the Family, Infant and Toddler Program provide services to families with children from birth to age three who experience developmental delays or are at risk for developmental delays. The services are home-based and support a family-focused team approach.
CUPS (Children's Upstream Services) provides consultation and case management services to families with children ages birth to six who have challenging emotional and behavioral issues. Services are also provided to childcare providers and early educational programs.
The Pediatric Collaborative Project offers a full-time social worker in a local pediatrician's office. The social worker provides case management, individual and family counseling, consultation and referral for children and families involved with the practice.
Individual and family therapy, therapeutic casework services and child psychiatry are provided on an outpatient basis. These services are designed to support children in their homes, address psychological and emotional issues, psychiatric and medication issues, and prevent unnecessary out-of-home placement.
Intensive family-based services are offered as time-limited, in-home treatment programs for parents who need support to safely manage their children at home. Staff professionals may provide counseling, case management, parent education (including substance abuse treatment) and coordination with schools or other community-based organizations.
ACCESS is a program for families that need immediate, brief therapeutic case management. The goal of the program is to stabilize a crisis through intensive, home-based intervention to prevent unnecessary out-of-home placement.
School therapists and home/school coordinators provide individual and group treatment, counseling, and case management services in public schools and alternative day treatment settings throughout the Northeast Kingdom.
Futures provides therapeutic wrap-around services for abused and neglected children in custody, and behaviorally disturbed children whose birth parents request temporary placement out of the home. Home-based treatment services are included in the continuum of care. Post-adoption services are provided to families who have adopted children with special needs and include counseling, case management, respite and support groups.
Respite care is also available for families who need special support to care for an emotionally or behaviorally disturbed child at home.
JOBS (Jump on Board for Success)/Transition Services is a case management and employment program for youth, ages 16 to 22 who are out of school and who have emotional and/or behavioral issues. The program assists and supports these youth so that they can secure employment, achieve independence and successfully obtain a GED or re-enter an educational program as they transition into adulthood.
Healthy Babies Kids and Families is a program that provides mental health services through intensive home visiting for high-risk families who are pregnant or who have children up to the age of six. This program is a collaboration with the Health Department, VNA and PCC, designed as prevention and early intervention strategies of out-reach, support and education.