Posts from: Blog
Addiction Treatment Services Now Available
Announcing a New Addiction Treatment Program at Upper Bay Counseling Elkton, MD: For local residents who are struggling with substance use and addictions, there’s a new program available in Cecil County that can help. Upper Bay Counseling & Support Services, Inc. has opened a comprehensive treatment program offering substance use counseling services. If you think you have a problem with alcohol or drug use, this program can provide the services you need. When you come for substance use services at UBCSS, you will start with a comprehensive assessment through our Intake/Admissions Department. At intake, you will have a face to face collaborative assessment completed by a licensed behavioral health therapist. During this process, the therapist will ask you questions to determine if you have a problem with alcohol or drug use and, if so, make recommendations about what treatment would be best to help you reach your goals. Upper Bay provides various treatment options that can help you with substance use or addiction. These include: Individual counseling, which includes regular meetings with a substance use treatment professional Weekly group counseling specifically for people with drug and alcohol issues. Intensive Out-Patient Programming that meets three hours a day, three days a week. (l. to r.) Therapists for Co-Occurring Disorders Roger Pedrick, Becky Abramowicz, and Marsha McGlinchey, and Substance Disorder Counselor Daniel Norvell Your treatment services will be provided by licensed or certified professionals in the substance use treatment field. At the start of your treatment, your counselor will work with you individually to help you identify your treatment goals and to make a plan of action for your recovery. Your goals for treatment and your counseling will focus on your strengths as well as your personal needs and preferences. Your participation in treatment at Upper Bay is based on your choice. It is voluntary and may be discontinued at any time. Co-Occurring Disorders At the time of your assessment, the treatment professional will also screen for co-occurring disorders. That means, he or she will determine if you have a mental health disorder in addition to your substance use disorder. If so, you can be enrolled in treatment here for co-occurring disorders. This includes comprehensive counseling services for both of these conditions, the mental health disorder as well as the substance use disorder. This may also include an evaluation for psychiatric medication based on your needs and treatment goals. At UBCSS, we have many therapists who are skilled at providing treatment for individuals with co-occurring disorders. Your assigned therapist will offer interventions designed to work specifically for you, interventions that will match your personality and meet your personal goals. Coordination of Treatment At your request, our staff can coordinate your care with other service providers or individuals who may be involved in your care, such as your Primary Care Physician, Medication Assisted Treatment provider (Suboxone, Methadone), probation officer, family member, or others that you give permission to include in the treatment process. Discharge Discharge planning takes place early in your treatment in order to identify what you would like to accomplish prior to completing treatment. In many cases the level of treatment and frequency of treatment is reduced over time while ensuring that those who graduate from treatment have the needed recovery tools to maintain success. Your discharge plan will be determined with respect to your needs and preferences. If you are interested in substance use or addiction treatment, co-occurring disorders treatment, or mental health treatment, please contact our Intake/Admissions department at (410) 996-3450 or (800) 467-0304. Read More →
Keep the Door Open for Mental Health
UBCSS Staff Attends “Keep the Door Open” Rally On February 25, six staff members from Upper Bay Counseling & Support Services travelled to Annapolis to attend a rally at Lawyers Mall. This Rally was focused on gathering attention for the upcoming “Keep the Door Open” Act (formerly the Guzzone bill). On this day, behavioral health advocates from all over the state of Maryland gathered to rally for legislation at the state capital. They were calling for passage of this bill that would provide better access to mental health services for people in need. The Rally was a huge success with hundreds of people in attendance. Clients and providers met in the area between the House of Delegates and the Maryland Senate to express the need for increased funding for behavioral and mental health. The bill focuses on ensuring annual budget increases for providers who serve the mental health community. Non-profit providers such as Upper Bay Counseling & Support Services receive funding from the State. A bill like the Keep the Door Open Act will provide some security for providers so they can, not only pay to retain their staff, but also provide more services throughout their communities. Behavioral health clinics lack some of the resources and staff to help everyone who needs their services in the community. The individuals who suffer the most from a lack of services are those who are in crisis and forced to go to emergency rooms for care. These visits come at a much higher cost. The increased funding that would arise from this bill would lessen the amount of emergency room visits and increase community services across the state. # # # We welcome your comments. Please let us know what you think. (Note: this page is not monitored for sensitive personal information. Please call our office at 1-800-467-0304 if you need help. If you are having a mental health or medical emergency please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.) Read More →
UBCSS Now Provides Mobile Treatment Services
This New Mental Health Program Helps People in the Community Many people who need mental health services are unwilling or simply unable to attend traditional office based mental health treatment. In response to this concern in our community, Upper Bay Counseling & Support Services, Inc. offers a new program called Mobile Treatment Services (MTS). This program incorporates a proven model of care designed to provide treatment, rehabilitation, and support services to individuals who are diagnosed with a severe mental illness and whose needs have not been met by more traditional mental health treatment. Program Director Ronnie Drake, Nurse Practitioner Ngozi Chiekwu, Therapist Sabrina Dowlut-Beard, and Nurse Mary Briggs According to MTS Program Director Ronnie Drake I, D.Min, LCPC, “This mobile treatment service provides individual counseling and hands on rehabilitation services in the community. We meet the client where they are most comfortable meeting with us. This can be their home, the shelter, library or any other community location. The MTS team offers a ray of hope for many individuals in Cecil County who grapple with the day-to-day challenges of living with a serious mental health disorder and not having success in treatment with traditional services. Upper Bay Counseling is very excited to develop Cecil County’s first MTS team.” “Going to the clients’ homes and meeting them in their natural habitat is a no-brainer to me,” Drake said. “Clients are most comfortable when you meet them on their own turf. Clients want to know that we care about them, that we not only want them to experience treatment and rehabilitation services, but also that we seek to understand and embrace their complicated world.” “For example,” he added, “this service can assist clients in understanding their mental health diagnoses, whether they may have a diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression. Clients can begin to understand the rippling effects of having a mental health diagnosis and the treatment options they have for optimally managing their symptoms.” To qualify for MTS team services, a client would need to be referred and have a diagnosis of serious and persistent mental health disorder. The client would also need Maryland Medicaid Health Insurance or be dually eligible with Maryland Medicaid and Medicare. In addition to serving as the program director, Ronnie Drake is also a team member of the MTS program. He will be working with a team of that is comprised of the following: director , prescriber , registered nurses, social worker ,co-occurring specialist, vocational specialist and peer support specialist. His team will be providing in-home therapy, medication management, psychoeducational groups, and other therapeutic and rehabilitation activities. “Clients who require these services the most,” Drake noted, “are the ones who can’t seem to manage within traditional programs. Bringing therapy and psychoeducational groups to the clients, I strongly believe, will promote in them a sense of self-respect and pride. Clients appreciate when a provider takes time to meet them where they are.” In addition, Drake indicates that therapy doesn’t necessarily have to take place in a therapist’s office in order for clients to experience symptom stabilization or rehabilitation. The MTS team wants to assure clients that they can also experience a “holistic treatment” in the comforts of their residence or even at another venue such as a restaurant, library, community center, YMCA, church, or local park. Unlike traditional mental health services, the MTS team can provide medication reviews and evaluations in the client’s preferred setting. Team members will not only help set up appointments with clients, but will also transport them to pick up medications as needed. MTS team members also assist clients with accessing community services and resources. The team works with clients to determine appropriate referrals based on their specific needs. The team members also work together in gathering information to help each client develop goals and make needed changes. “The main goal of the MTS team is to assist with symptom stabilization thus reducing emergency department visits and psychiatric hospitalizations,” says Debbie Parker LCPC, Division Director of Recovery Services at Upper Bay Counseling. “We strive to assist each client so that he or she can eventually transition to more traditional types of mental health treatment such as the outpatient services (individual psychotherapy and medication management) that we provide at our offices on Booth Street and Route 40 in Cecil County.” “As I see it,” Drake said, “the mental health field has to reinvent itself if it truly wants to meet the needs of individuals who struggle with the severe symptoms of mental illness. So it is essential to continue to search for ways in which to think outside the box.” MTS team services are available through Upper Bay Counseling in Cecil County. To learn more about this service, call us at 410-996-5104 or visit our website at www.upperbay.org. (Published Feb 16, 2016.) # # # We welcome your comments. Please let us know what you think. (Note: this page is not monitored for sensitive personal information. Please call our office at 1-800-467-0304 if you need help. If you are having a mental health or medical emergency please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.) Read More →
UBCSS Now Offers In-Home Services
New Program Offers Mental Health Services in Clients’ Homes By Jerry Dorsman Upper Bay Counseling and Support Services, Inc. now provides individual and family therapy in the homes of their clients. According to Robert Wilson, PsyD, Division Director, this is an important “next step” in healthcare. “Providing mental health counseling in the home makes sense,” he said. “We started this new service as a pilot program last fall and it proved to be exactly what was needed by many of our clients. So we now offer it as a standard service.” “For example,” Wilson added, “ this service can help people with mental health diagnoses who are physically disabled or individuals who are so anxious or panicked that they feel uncomfortable leaving their homes. This service can even be used if transportation is an issue for our clients or just if a client has a preference to be seen in his or her home environment.” To qualify for mental health home visits, a person would need to have a mental health diagnosis and Medicaid Health Insurance. Soon, these services should be covered by Medicare as well. Shannon Sitter, LCPC, is an In-Home Therapist for Upper Bay Counseling. She’s one of the frontline staff for this program providing in-home therapy on a full-time basis. To meet all the clients’ needs, there are a few other therapists providing the in-home services on a part-time basis as well. According to Sitter, “People who need mental health services the most tend to be the ones who have the most difficulty making it to office visits. I think doing therapy in the home is simply a more relaxed setting for many people and this facilitates the therapy process. Also when family therapy is needed, it can be easier for everyone if it is in the home.” In addition, Sitter reports that this service proves invaluable for homeless clients. She has provided therapy for them in temporary motel rooms or in local eating establishments. This presents a challenge to privacy that is crucial to counseling services, but Sitter has been creative in assuring privacy in the community settings that she uses. When providing in-home services, therapists can take their computers to each visit and can access client records as needed. All of the information on these computers is encrypted so they’re safe to carry out of the office. Even important documents can be signed by the client through the use of an electronic signature pad. So everything that’s normally done at the office can be done in the home setting. Not all mental health services can be provided in clients’ residences however. For example clients still need to go to the office for medication reviews and evaluations, and to obtain their prescriptions. In-Home Therapists can make the referrals for medications as needed and can help set up appointments. The In-Home Therapists also make referals for clients to other services in the community that may assist them such as Mental Health Case Management or the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Program (PRP). “The healthcare environment keeps changing,” notes Dr. Rich Bayer, CEO of Upper Bay Counseling. “As the Affordable Care Act phases in, more people have health insurance. Also there’s an increased recognition that mental health is an important component of overall health so more and more people are accessing mental health to meet their healthcare needs.” “Upper Bay receives approximately 1800 calls each month,” he adds. “Of course, not everyone who calls needs mental health treatment. They may need another resource, such as addictions treatment, or services for a developmental disability, so we help those individuals to find the right resource for what they need. But most who call need a mental health appointment. That’s why we started the ‘Open Access’ model, meaning that someone can come in and be seen the same day that they call, as long as they call before noon. “The way healthcare is changing, Open Access really helps. It makes things so much easier for our clients. But many can’t make it to one of our offices, so the in-home services can be just what they need.” The In-Home Services are available through Upper Bay Counseling in both Cecil and Harford Counties. To learn more about this service, call us at 410-996-3450 or see more on our website (www.upperbay.org). (Published June 26, 2015.) # # # We welcome your comments. Please let us know what you think. (Note: this page is not monitored for sensitive personal information. Please call our office at 1-800-467-0304 if you need help. If you are having a mental health or medical emergency please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.) Read More →
UBCSS Offers New Program: FUSIONS
New Program Provides Support for Children and Adolescents By Jerry Dorsman Upper Bay Counseling & Support Services, Inc. has a new program, FUSIONS, which provides care coordination / case management for children and families in Cecil County. FUSIONS is available to individuals under 18 years old who have a mental health diagnosis, a co-occurring issue (mental health diagnosis and substance use diagnosis), and those youth at risk for an out of home placement, who meet eligibility requirements. This service focuses on the strengths and needs of the youth and his or her family. It helps individuals build upon their strengths and allows the family to have a “Voice and Choice” in the process. FUSIONS staff: Linsay Woolman, Sarah Conaway, and Anne-Marie Cox Using a wraparound model, FUSIONS brings together people from different parts of the family’s life to coordinate activities, blend their perspectives, and facilitate a planning process that follows a series of steps to develop an action plan for the family. A FUSIONS’ Care Coordinator facilitates this process for the youth and his or her family. The process involves the youth and family as the leaders in developing a plan of care that is both comprehensive and individualized to the youth and family needs The Care Coordinator meets with the family to help identify the community supports (therapist, school counselor), informal supports (pastor, coach, mentor) and natural supports (friends, family, neighbors) as identified by the family and this becomes the Child and Family Team. The Care Coordinator will arrange a Child Family Team (CFT) meeting at the family’s preferred meeting time and place and invite the family’s support systems. At CFT meetings, the Care Coordinator will facilitate a wraparound process that will assist the team to work together in establishing resources that each team member can provide. The Care Coordinator will also help team members identify tasks to be completed that will assist the family in meeting its needs while simultaneously following the plan of care for the youth and the family. The FUSIONS Staff Anne-Marie Cox, LCSW-C, program supervisor, has over 11 years of experience as a therapist working with children and their families. During that time she has had experience with the Wraparound Model of Care as a therapist, care coordinator and supervisor. Linsay Woolman, care coordinator, has an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Cecil College and a Bachelor’s in Behavioral Science with a certificate in Child Advocacy from Wilmington University. She works on the Neighborhood Youth Panel Program for Cecil County. She also serves as a little league coach. Sarah Conaway, care coordinator, is a 2014 graduate from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor’s degree in Health Behavior Science. She has experience working in Case Management, interning with adults and children with physical, developmental, and behavioral disabilities. A child qualifies for the FUSIONS program if he or she has both a mental health diagnosis and Medical Assistance. For more information about this program or to make a referral, you’re invited to call Anne-Marie Cox at 443-350-3347 or email her at ACox@upperbay.org. (Published May 29, 2015.) # # # We welcome your comments. Please let us know what you think. (Note: this page is not monitored for sensitive personal information. Please call our office at 1-800-467-0304 if you need help. If you are having a mental health or medical emergency please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.) Read More →
Hello world!
Upper Bay Counseling & Support Services, Inc. published a new website in 2014 and now we publish an associated blog. Read More →