Programs and Services

Behavioral Health Treatment Services

This program serves children/youth with serious emotional disorders when other less intensive levels of service (such as traditional outpatient services) have not been or are likely not to be effective. UCP employs behavioral interventions directed towards achieving improved child/youth and family functioning to treat the child/youth in his/her family system, or community system if the child is without permanency.

The program is directed by a clinician who oversees the day to day home and/or community-based treatment carried out by a Behavioral Health Professional. These UCP professionals provide each child/youth and their family behavioral health services 2-3 hours per day, 2 to 3 times per week, for 1-6 consecutive months in home or community settings. Frequency and intensity is individualized for each child/youth.

Unless the youth is without permanency, parents/caregiver/guardians are actively involved in a significant portion of treatment sessions, which initially defines the primary problem and identifies child and family strengths and natural supports. Such active participation is found to be important to the success of treatment for children and adolescents, by focusing on planning appropriate responses, following through with the responses, assessing outcomes of the new parenting and child behavior, and beginning the cycle again with new refined responses.

All treatment plans are individualized and focus on addressing the presenting problem requiring this level of treatment. As functioning improves, the child/youth and family receives a diminishing number of treatment hours. The child/youth then transitions to community outpatient treatment and/or natural support systems as soon as they can be appropriately treated and supported.

For more information about Behavioral Health Treatment Services, please contact UCP at (207) 941-2952 or send an e-mail.

http://www.ucpofmaine.org
Updated: 06/04/2009