Our child and adolescent mental health services are the most extensive in the tri-county area. We partner with local area schools to provide counseling services, our medical team offers the very best in psychiatric care, we deliver life changing community support programs, and we provide cutting edge clinical care that produces powerful results for children and their families.
Here is an overview of our growing list of services for children.
Clinic Based Services
Staff and psychiatrists provide clients and families with regularly scheduled appointments in the Dorchester and Charleston Clinics. Services include, but are not limited to: Psychiatric Medical Assessment, Assessment, Case Management and Individual, Family or Group Therapy. Some treatment services may also be offered in the community.
School Based Services
Services to school aged clients are provided to contracted schools within Dorchester and Charleston Counties and throughout the community.
What is School-Based Mental Health?
The SC Department of Mental Health is dedicated to the development of school-based mental health programs across South Carolina. DMH provides mental health programs that are non-stigmatizing and easily accessible to children and their families in the local community. The mission of school-based services is to identify and intervene at early points in emotional disturbances and assist parents, teachers, and counselors in developing comprehensive strategies for resolving these disturbances.
We have counselors in several schools across Charleston and Dorchester counties that provide individual, group, and family treatment and case management services, as needed. The schools in Charleston County that CDMHC partners with for the 2011/2012 school year are:
| Charleston County Schools | Charleston County Schools | Charleston County Schools | Charleston County Schools |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baptist Hill | Burns Elem | Chicora Elem | Dunston Elem |
| Ellington Elem | Goodwin Elem | Haut Gap | Hursey |
| Jane Edwards | Liberty Hill | Mary Ford | Memminger |
| Midland Park | Morningside Middle | N. Charleston Elem | N. Charleston High |
| Pinehurst Elem | Sanders Clyde Elem | James Simons | St. James-Santee |
The Charleston Dorchester Mental Health Center partners with all schools in Dorchester’s District II and IV for the 2011/2012 school year.
How to make a school based referral:
To refer to a clinician in a partnering school, ask your child’s principal, guidance counselor or teacher for referral form for the mental health counselor in your school. If you have any questions about school based services, please call one of our clinics and a staff member will be happy to assist you!
Links To Success
Links to Success is a Trident United Way (TUW) collaboration in which Communities in Schools and Boys and Girls Club staff serve as Integrated Services Providers, coordinating the services of a variety of Linking Partners (funded by the TUW) that all work together in several at-risk schools. Linking partners include the following:
Department of Mental Health, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Clubs of the Trident Area, Wings for Kids, Lowcountry Foodbank, Lowcountry Earth Force, SC Maritime Foundation, Dee Norton Lowcountry Children’s Center, Tricounty Family Ministries, East Cooper Community Outreach, Family Services, Inc., Adult Education, and Increasing H.O.P.E.
The Links To Success sites for the 2010-2011 school year that Charleston Dorchester Mental Health serve include: Memminger Elementary School, North Charleston Elementary School, Goodwin Elementary, Haut Gap Magnet School of Advanced Studies, Mary Ford Elementary, Sanders Clyde Elem., and Harleyville/Ridgeville.
Dee Norton Low Country Children’s Center (DNLCC)
Our staff are located at DNLCC to provide assessments and treatment to children and adolescents who are victims of sexual and/or physical abuse. Parents/caregivers participate in parallel treatment with their children and are provided support and education on abuse issues. Therapists make necessary reports to appropriate agencies and coordinate beyond the making of the report to help meet the family’s needs. Staff participate in a weekly multi-agency staffing to support treatment. Staff may also be called upon to testify in family and criminal court proceedings.
Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ)
CDMHC team members are stationed at the DJJ offices in Charleston and Dorchester Counties to work with juveniles referred for emotional/behavioral/psychiatric problems and ordered to Juvenile Court.
Department of Social Services (DSS)
Staff work with DSS referred clients/families to promote reunification and provide family preservation services for foster and adopted children.
Out-of-Home Placements
CDMHC has a very structured plan for placing children out of the home and keeping them in the least restrictive placements possible. All efforts are made to keep children in the home. Staff work with placement agencies/treatment centers and other involved agencies to monitor treatment services and ensure focus is on reunification, transition to independent living, and/or step downs to lower levels of care. Case management services are provided to clients and their families in all placements, including those committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice facilities.
Babynet/PCIT (Parent Child Interactional Therapy)
Highly trained clinicians provide therapeutic services to families when young children (birth to 7) have been diagnosed with significant developmental delays. The focus on services may revolve around issues of grief, parenting skills, stress management, sibling relationships and marital difficulties resulting from additional personal and family stressors. Treatment seeks to enhance and support attachment. Click here to learn more…
Youth In Transition
Staff provide an array of therapeutic and case management services for young people, ages 16 – 21, who have a history of serious emotional/behavioral problems. Goals of the program are for youth to complete their education, attain full/part-time employment and decrease time in psychiatric and Department of Juvenile Justice facilities.
