- Mental Health Assessments
- Substance Abuse Assessments
- Trauma Assessments
- Children’s Risk Assessments
- Parenting Classes (Utilizing the Nurturing Parent Program)
- Batterers Intervention Program (BIP)
- Anger Management Classes
- Psychological Evaluations
- Mental Health Assessment–also known as a Psychosocial Assessment or an Intake Assessment:
- A mental Health Assessment assesses your overall mental health. The therapist will ask several questions over the course of approximately an hour. The questions help the therapist gain insight into your concerns/issues/needs as well as where the concerns may have arisen and what is contributing to them. The therapist will take a thorough social, emotional, and physical history to help them better understand your concerns and allow them to make recommendations to help you overcome your current concerns. From this information, the therapist will often diagnose the issue and offer a treatment plan.
- During a Substance Abuse Assessment, therapist will collect information about the individuals mental health as well as their current and past substance abuse concerns. Therapists often utilize the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI-3) and the collected information to determine diagnosis and treatment recommendations.
- Trauma Assessments are available to be conducted on client’s of all ages that have been involved in a potential traumatic event (i.e. physical or sexual abuse, neglect, domestic violence, natural disasters and other traumatic events and accidents). During the trauma assessment the therapist will evaluate the individual to determine how the traumatic event is effecting the individual’s daily functioning and determine treatment recommendations. Multiple Objective Screening and Assessment tools may accompany this assessment.
- Children/Adolescent Risk Assessments:
- A Risk Assessment is often provided immediately after a person has made a comment about harming themselves or others. Schools, doctors, families, and other professionals can call Brighter Futures Counseling when they have concerns about a students personal safety. The therapist will then come to the school, office, or other site to talk with the child/adolescent to determine the level of severity. The therapist will then assist the professionals involved and/or family with getting the child/adolescent to the appropriate level of care–this could be simply starting outpatient therapy or could be to help the child/adolescent get admitted to a hospital to deal with the immediate crisis. This service is offered at NO COST to the community.
- Risk Assessments for Children/Adolescents can be provided at Schools, DCBS Offices, at the Courthouse, Physician’s Office, or other needed locations…
- This service is also available for adults and postpartum Mothers as Requested by Physicians.
- A Risk Assessment is often provided immediately after a person has made a comment about harming themselves or others. Schools, doctors, families, and other professionals can call Brighter Futures Counseling when they have concerns about a students personal safety. The therapist will then come to the school, office, or other site to talk with the child/adolescent to determine the level of severity. The therapist will then assist the professionals involved and/or family with getting the child/adolescent to the appropriate level of care–this could be simply starting outpatient therapy or could be to help the child/adolescent get admitted to a hospital to deal with the immediate crisis. This service is offered at NO COST to the community.
Parenting Classes (Utilizing the Nurturing Parent Program)
- The Nurturing Parenting Programs are a family-centered initiative designed to build nurturing parenting skills. The long term goals are to prevent recidivism in families receiving social services, lower the rate of teenage pregnancies, reduce the rate of juvenile delinquency and alcohol abuse, and stop the intergenerational cycle of child abuse by teaching positive parenting behaviors.
- The programs feature activities to foster positive parenting skills and self-nurturing, home practice exercises, family nurturing time, and activities to promote positive brain development in children birth to 18 years. Lessons can be delivered in a groupsetting or one on one with the provider.
- Before beginning the program, each parent will participate in a mental health assessment including a parenting focused screening tool called the AAPI-2. The results from this assessment allow our providers to tailor the program specifically for your parenting needs. (www.nurturingparenting.com)
**Learn More under our Evidenced Based Practices Section…
Batterers Intervention Program (BIP)
- Batterer’s Intervention Program is based on the principle that Domestic violence creates a health and safety hazard to a victim (spouse, live-in partner, a child, or other family member) who may experience short and long term effects from the abuse. The immediate and long-term termination of the domestic violence is the priority purpose for batterer intervention. (Section 6 of 920 KAR 2:020). In other words, the Batterer’s Intervention Program works to stop violence in the home.
- The batterer’s intervention program is often court ordered or required by social service agencies, but can also be self-referred. The program consists of 28 consecutive weeks, each session lasting approximately 90 minutes. You can start the group at any point…you do not have to wait for a specific 28 weeks to end. Groups available weekly. BIP Assessments available weekly.
- Weekly Topics Include:
- Definition of domestic violence, including physical, sexual, psychological, and environmental abuse
- Effects of domestic violence on a victim and a witness to domestic violence
- Civil and criminal law related to domestic violence
- Cycle of violence and other dynamic of domestic violence
- Personal responsibility for domestic violence
- Client’s use of power, control, and coercion in an intimate relationship
- Sex role stereotyping
- Patterns of aggression in conflict with victims
- Actual and perceived roles of alcohol and drug abuse in domestic violence
- Constructive and nonviolent method for resolving conflict in a relationship
- Parenting after violence, including education on pediatric abusive head trauma (shaken baby syndrome)
- Relapse prevention techniques
- Brighter Futures Counseling offers Anger Management Groups and Individual sessions to help individuals process and deal with anger concerns and develop skills to overcome their anger. Assessments and Groups available weekly.
- This type of evaluation if often required when there is a specific question regarding a client’s level of function, personality, or for mental health diagnostic clarification. The evaluation often consists of tests or measures that are appropriate to the need of the evaluation. With the results of the measures as well as direct interview and observation, recommendations for treatment are given.
Family Team Meeting Facilitation (FTM’s)
- Families involved in the court system and/or Child Protective Services often need a meeting with the parties involved with their case to discuss a concern or need. Family Team Meetings provide this type of meeting. Our Therapists are trained as neutral third party moderators. Anyone can submit a Family Team Meeting referral to our agency and we will schedule the meeting and ensure all parties are invited. We then moderate the meeting to ensure everyone’s voices and needs are heard and that a plan is developed to manage the concerns and the ongoing case.
- These meetings are also often held at the request of DCBS, School Professionals, CASA, Attorneys, Judges, and other Professionals…