Mental Health Resources

“An event is traumatic if it is extremely upsetting and at least temporarily overwhelms the individual’s internal resources.” —John Briere, PhD & Catherine Scott, MD

There is a high rate of trauma among children who have been removed from the home. The effects of trauma don’t magically disappear once the child is placed safety in the care of a kinship guardian. Behavioral issues among children who have been removed from the home vary in the degree and type. Common issues include problems with sleep, food issues, anxiety, and hygiene (O’Neal, 2018). Sometimes these issues are mitigated with time as the child is adjusting to the new environment and sometimes the children and family need additional support.

Signs Of Trauma Include

• Anxiety about safety/preoccupation with violence
• Irritability, moodiness, inattention
• Withdrawal from people or activities
• Angry outbursts, verbal and physical aggression
• Hypoarousal/Hyperarousal
• Distrust of others/Difficulty with authority
• Change in the ability to interpret social cues
• Somatic complaints
• Thoughts/statements about death/dying
• Change in school performance

If your child is experiencing difficulties now that they have come into your home, Fostering Families is here to support the whole family by providing referrals for individual and family therapy, and comprehensive community support services (CCSS), home-based services for qualifying families, school-based services. Request Services Here  View Trauma-Informed Care Training Video Here

Individual & Family Therapy
The goal of therapy is to empower people to develop and use their strengths, skills and resources (both internal and external) to help overcome obstacles and maintain a desirable quality of life. The earlier individual issues can be addressed the more likely we all are to achieve successful outcomes. We offer referrals for individual therapy for children, adolescents, and adults, family therapy, and substance abuse assessment and treatment.

Comprehensive Community Support Services
Sometimes clients face challenges that aren’t exactly clinical. They often need help acquiring certain life skills or accessing community resources. CCSS steps in to fill this gap. A Community Support Worker (CSW) supports individuals and families with the services and resources to help promote recovery, rehabilitation, and resiliency.

Interacting face-to-face and on behalf of the client in community locations, a CSW worker utilizes a variety of interventions to addresses any barriers that impede the client’s development toward independent functioning in the community. CCSS services are provided to eligible recipients between the ages of 5–21 that meets New Mexico state criteria for Serious Emotional/Neurobiological/Behavioral Disorders (SED).

Multisystemic Therapy
Also known as Home Based Therapy, the major goal of MST is to give parents the skills and resources needed to address the difficulties that arise in raising youth with delinquent behaviors. It also seeks to empower youth to cope with family, peer, school, and neighborhood problems. MST is an evidence-based treatment model that strives to promote behavior change in the youth’s natural environment, leveraging the strengths of each system to facilitate change (family, peers, school, neighborhood, organizations.) As an intensive family and community-based treatment model, the focus is on the many causes underlying serious delinquent behavior in youth who are at potential risk for out-of-home placement.

School-Based Therapy
School-based therapy services are provided in Bernalillo and Dona Ana Counties to Medicaid-eligible students in the school setting. This arrangement helps overcome barriers that might prevent students from accessing services, such as a lack of transportation, and ensures they receive the services they need. Therapists are at the schools on a regular basis to see students, attend school Health & Wellness meetings, and consult with teachers and other school staff. Therapists also work with parents to engage them in treatment and keep them informed of the services their children receive.