Youth Mental Health Services

How Youth Counseling Works

Breaking rules at home, feeling depressed, acting out at school—these are all signs that children or adolescents may need mental health services. In America, four million youth suffer from a mental disorder that significantly impairs functioning at school, at home and with peers. But research shows that therapy works. Appleseed's Theoretical Framework for Treatment emphasizes recovery while actively avoiding re-traumatization, promotes change by drawing out the client's own meaning, and views treatment through the lens of the systems that impact a client's day-to day-function is critical to fully implementing excellent and holistic care. These are some of the services involved in the process:

Crisis Intervention: This service offers 24 hour response to emergency situations either by phone or depending on the level of intensity, in person

Mental Health Assessment: This service involves a Clinical evaluation provided by a licensed mental health professional in which the necessary information is gathered to define youth or family’s concerns and help set goals for treatment. Functioning level, and strengths

Individual and Family Counseling: This service focuses on interactive therapeutic interventions which focus on the treatment needs of the individual and/or family seeking mental health services

Group Counseling: Group counseling is an interactive therapeutic intervention which focus on the treatment needs of the individual seeking mental health services in a group setting

Pharmacological Management Services: This service is provided by a physician trained in psychiatry to use medications and other intervention used to reduce, stabilize or eliminate psychiatric symptoms.

Community Psychiatric Support (Individual and Group): This service is actually an array of services and activities that provide treatment, support and rehabilitation. The emphasis of this service is on nine specific treatment interventions: Assessment of needs, Skill development, linking, symptom monitoring, assistance in crisis management, advocacy, family education, elimination of barriers preventing independent functioning and social integration.

Keeping Families Strong: Program funded by the United Way of Ashland County and Mohican Area Community Fund that allows Appleseed to provide services to needy families

School/Community Liaisons: Collaborative project among the MHRB, Appleseed, and the Schools. Liaisons are a tremendous benefit to the communities we serve. Liaisons are well accepted in the schools and are providing an “identified” needed service. This service is funded by Ashland County Mental Health Levy funds.

ADHD Coordinated Treatment: A program to train parents on child development, promote healthy family communication and interactions, social reinforcement, and trouble shooting while concurrently teaching children by reinforcing social skills, communication, and goal setting.

Child Psychiatry Services

Child psychiatry services can make visions of a compliant child who’s successful in school and in relationships a reality. It can help turn around what’s a seemingly impossible situation to caregivers dealing with rebellion, out-of-control behavior and legal problems. Child psychiatry services can help your child get back on track, whether they are dealing with ADHD, depression, anxiety or other mental health issues. Without expert help, however, these problems could continue to burden your child as they enter adulthood.

Psychiatric services for children

Our child psychiatrists are highly trained professionals, having undergone rigorous educational and internship requirements. Child psychiatrists must undergo another layer of training and internship, devoting two years to residency serving adults, and three more years of residency serving children. The child psychiatrists at Appleseed are licensed and certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

The Appleseed approach

The child psychiatrists at Appleseed approach every child that they treat with a comprehensive approach that involves assessment, diagnosis and development of an individual program, along with other steps like family support and education, family therapy, legal advocacy, and more.

Therapy – The hallmarks of our child psychiatry services’ approach to counseling include considering the child’s cognitive development and ability to express themselves, develop social skills and problem-solving behaviors, and encourage supportive caregiver relationships. Your child’s psychiatrist may also coordinate care with other professionals that are involved in your child’s care.
Medication – Child psychiatrists may treat mental health problems with medication, having the qualifications to accurately diagnose conditions and prescribe the right meds. The safe use of medications requires diagnosis and oversight by a child psychiatrist. Studies have shown the dangers of prescribing some medications used to treat mental health conditions for children.
Confidentiality – Your child’s visit with a child psychiatrist at Appleseed is completely confidential and judgment-free. All of the information you provide to the psychiatrist during the assessment and treatment phases is bound by the doctor-patient confidentiality agreement.

ADHD Coordinated Treatment

Appleseed's ADHD Coordinated Treatment includes:

1. Parent Training-Individual therapy for assessments and readiness

Children ages 7-10
MHA new diagnosis of ADHD or currently in treatment for ADHD
Parent willingness to participate

2. Parent Support-non-intensive home-based services

3. Group Treatment with Concurrently run parent and children's groups

Parent training on child development, promote healthy family communication and interactions, social reinforcement, trouble shooting
Understanding parenting styles and structure, goal setting
Identify child's strengths and challenges, understanding ADHD
Promote healthy communication and family interactions
Teach behavioral techniques and social reinforcement
Address parental stress management, disciple techniques that are teaching and corrective not punitive
Parental skill assessment, review, trouble shooting, resources

4. Children's group teaching and reinforcing social skills, communication, goal setting

Identifying strengths, learning style survey, goal setting
Positive Communication skills and "I statements"
Social skills and manners, self-correction and accepting correction
Stress and anger management
Problem solving skills and positive self-statements
Review of lessons, goal setting for school, termination celebration

5. Teacher consultation and ongoing trouble shooting to include coordinator, therapist, or support from Appleseed's Community School Liaisons

6. Therapist/Case Manager consultation with coordinator for one to three sessions to "bridge" the parenting component and implement behavior plans

Art Therapy

Art therapy enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship. Art therapy, facilitated by a professional art therapist, effectively supports personal and relational treatment goals as well as community concerns. Art therapy is used to improve cognitive and sensorimotor functions, foster self-esteem and self-awareness, cultivate emotional resilience, promote insight, enhance social skills, reduce and resolve conflicts and distress, and advance societal and ecological change (American Art Therapy Association).

The evidence-based modalities utilized by Appleseed’s Art Therapist includes:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; a form of psychological treatment that has been demonstrated to be effective for a range of problems including depression, anxiety disorders, alcohol and drug use problems, marital problems, eating disorders, and severe mental illness.
Motivational Interviewing; a collaborative, goal-oriented style of communication with particular attention to the language of change. It is designed to strengthen personal motivation for and commitment to a specific goal by eliciting and exploring the person’s own reasons for change within an atmosphere of acceptance and compassion.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy; a type of talk therapy for people who experience emotions very intensely. It’s a common therapy for people with borderline personality disorder, but therapists provide it for other mental health conditions as well.

The therapist may complete a variety of assessments at the beginning of individual art therapy to bring some structure to the session and build insight on certain aspects of art like symbolism, meaning making, and representations that represent parts of the individual. Some activities that might be used are Draw A Person In The Rain (DAP-R), Draw A Person (DAP), Draw A Story, and Don Jones Assessment (DJA) using guided imagery. These assessments use art to assess stressors in the client’s environment, encourage problem-solving, reflect on relationships, and find strengths with the client. The therapist will also do other art interventions that are more unstructured giving the individual more ability to find freedom and meaning by making with their creations and using prompts related to topics of the session in which they are given time to create to help process current symptoms, emotions, and stressors.

Recent Updates

September is both Suicide Prevention Month and Recovery Awareness Month

I can't thank my counselor enough. All of the staff are wonderful and I can not thank them enough either.

Youth Mental Health Services

Recent Updates

September is both Suicide Prevention Month and Recovery Awareness Month

Tools for Positive Mental Health

Sense of Awe and Wonder