Behavioral Health Services Provide Alaska Youth Tools to Navigate Life
By Senior Communication Specialist Erik Judson
Child and Family Outpatient Services provides a comfortable atmosphere for youth to explore and receive support.
For many students, the beginning of a new school year means change. New classrooms, teachers, friends, and activities can be a stressful time for youth. Southcentral Foundation Child and Family Outpatient Services has programs and resources for youth who may be struggling with these challenges.
Two programs offer specialized therapeutic services. The Trails Program provides the opportunity to learn and practice skills that improve relationships with family and peers, while Intensive Home-Based Treatment provides customer-owners who are at risk of out of home placement with positive development and healthy family support within the home setting.
While referrals are the most common way to receive services at CFOS, walk-in clinicians are available every weekday at the CFOS East clinic to determine types of support, and next steps, if needed. Even if a youth is apprehensive or unwilling to attend therapy services, the walk-in clinic offers parents or guardians the opportunity to discuss concerns and work with behavioral health clinicians on a path forward.
“Youth wellness takes place in the context of family wellness,” CFOS Clinical Supervisor Maria Rollins shared. “It’s important to enlist family members as co-therapists, so to speak, because they are really the experts on their children and also their biggest cheerleaders outside the therapy office.”
Rollins encourages families to maintain a relationship of openness and discussion with their youth. Noticing when youth become more isolated, withdrawn, or start to avoid school may reveal early signs of behavioral concerns.
“We have clinicians who provide individual, group, and family psychotherapy services,” Rollins said.
Older youth may have concerns about privacy regarding topics they are not yet comfortable sharing with their parents. Adolescents may wish to discuss depression, anxiety, identity, and fitting in. By providing them with the space to explore concerns, clinicians can support healthy conversations about these topics and provide approaches without leaving family members in the dark.
“The clinician really acts as a diplomat,” Rollins said, “attending to the needs of the youth, but also recognizing and supporting that teen’s relationship with their family is a positive thing. We just need to go about it in a way that honors their trust in us.”
CFOS works collaboratively with customer-owners to develop the best level of support at the time, reviewing treatment plans every three months. There is no timeline for treatment completion for a particular concern, and the team encourages returning to behavioral health support if new stressors come about.
“We really pride ourselves in the support that we provide to youth and families in this community,” Rollins shared.
For more information about behavioral services at Southcentral Foundation, including Child and Family Outpatient Services, visit bit.ly/3t0w0rW or contact your primary care provider.
