Children and Youth Mental Health

Supporting children and teens through mental health and substance abuse services.

LFS offers therapeutic services to help children and youth up to age 18 who are experiencing behavioral health issues, including issues related to the use of substances.

Available Services

  • For children ages 0 to 6 who have experienced interpersonal violence. CPP uses behavior-based strategies, play and verbal interpretation as therapeutic interventions. The focus is on improving child-caregiver interactions through play. The therapist acts as a bridge or interpreter between the child and parent.

  • An eight-week program based on years of research about how to best support and strengthen parent-child relationships. It is designed to help parents give their children a feeling of security and confidence so their children explore, learn, grow and build positive relationships.

  • Connections, a Project Harmony program, works with schools and health care professionals to identify children in grades K-8 in need of mental health services; focusing on children who are not receiving child welfare or juvenile justice services. Children are matched with LFS community therapists who are trained in evidence-based practices. Throughout the counseling process, therapists work with the family and a Connections mental health coordinator to help remove financial hardships and other barriers families face in accessing services.

  • A psychotherapy used to help with symptoms of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). By directly affecting how the brain processes information, EMDR helps people see traumatic memories in new, less distressing ways. To learn more about EMDR, click here.

  • Parents learn play therapy skills to enhance their parent-child relationship. Parents also learn to manage their child’s behaviors through behavioral principles and discipline techniques.

  • An evidence-based psychotherapy for children and adolescents (ages 3 to 18) with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other difficulties related to traumatic life events. The goal of TF-CBT is to provide both the child and caregiver with the knowledge and skills to help them identify and cope with trauma-related emotions, thoughts and behaviors.

  • YES Street Outreach works with homeless and street-dependent youth, ages 12 to 21, to provide services essential to their well-being. YES workers provide services such as meals, access to showers and laundry facilities, education planning, job searching and advocacy, as well as health services through the Visiting Nurse Association.

     

    YES partners with LFS to offer therapeutic mental health services to youth during Center hours with no barriers to accessing services.