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Madison County Mental Health Department


The Mental Health Department is an umbrella agency that encompasses several programs that work together to provide comprehensive services to Madison County residents of all ages. Under the NYS Mental Hygiene Law Madison County has created a Community Services Board (CSB) to act as the local government unit in providing planning implantation and oversight of certified programs of care in the County. The CSB has responsibility for services provided by the Mental Health Department and the other agencies identified. Listed below are services provided by the Mental Health Department. We have also provided links to other services in the community and other mental health related Internet sites.
MENTAL HEALTH CLINIC
The Outpatient Clinic provides the single entry point for persons requesting any type of Mental Health services. This program is divided into four service units - Adult, Children and Youth, Crisis, and Forensic Services. The Clinic provides emergency mental health services and coordinates the Department's 24-hour crisis line. Crisis intervention may range from one contact with a distressed person, to several psychotherapeutic sessions with the person and family members. The Outpatient Clinic provides regularly scheduled assessment and treatment for on-going mental health problems.
Services may include verbal therapy, medication management, skills training, and psycho-educational modules. Psychotherapy is available to individuals (of all ages), families, couples, and groups at the Wampsville office. Contracted consultation services are also provided to areas BOCES, Cazenovia and Chittenango Schools and Head Start programs. The Clinic Program Director is Dr. Steven L. Adams. Click on the contact link for ways to contact us.

Fee for services
Fees are set on a sliding scale according to household income. Fees can range between $10 per visit and $150 dollars per visit. Payment plans can be arranged by special request. We accept Medicaid, Medicare, and most health insurance plans
Crisis Services
The Mental Health Department offers a 24-hour crisis line. Callers can access a clinic staff member at anytime. The Crisis Line also provides information and referral services from 9AM-5PM. Crisis workers are available on site at the Mental Health Department from 9AM-5PM and by telephone from 5PM-9AM to deal with emergency situations. Individuals are also seen at the office on an emergency walk-in basis. Crisis workers also go to area hospitals, jails and schools when necessary for emergency mental health assessments. Crisis Services are provided at no cost to the client.
Individuals requesting crisis services can call
315-366-2215
Or
(Toll-free within New York State)
1-800-721-2215

Inpatient Services
Madison County does not have any inpatient psychiatric hospitals. Most inpatient referrals are made through CPEP, the Comprehensive Psychiatric Evaluation Program, located at St. Joseph’s hospital in Syracuse. A person referred to CPEP would be evaluated to determine the need for inpatient treatment and CPEP would facilitate the admission process into one of the several area hospitals. These hospitals include St. Joseph’s, Benjamin Rush, Community General, Hutchings Psychiatric Center and SUNY Health Sciences Center in Syracuse, and St. Luke’s and St. Elizabeth’s in Utica.

Psychiatry Services
Many clients may require medication to help manage their symptoms and restore their ability to carry out daily activities. Madison County Mental Health Department employs several part-time Psychiatrists to address this need for both children and adults. Psychiatry referrals are received through the regular intake process.

ADULT GROUP SERVICES

The following are specific groups currently being offered through the outpatient clinic and their current status relative to new referrals. These specific groups are offered in addition to always-available individual, couples, and family therapy.
Coping with Emotions Group/DBT:This group focuses mainly on learning skills for distress tolerance, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and controlling self-destructive symptoms. The group is appropriate for persons in individual therapy who experience frequent crises and/or self-injurious or self-defeating behaviors. This group runs in a16 week cycles. New members will continue to be accepted until the group is full.
Adult Stress Management Group:This is an open group for adults designed to help clients develop and implement healthy coping mechanisms to effectively manage stress in their daily lives.
Part 2: Stress and Relationships: This in an 8 session group, open to all candidates who are interested in managing their stress and dealing with everyday life in productive ways that improve relationships, self-respect, and emotional health.
Aggression Reduction Group for ADULTS:Designed to help those who have problems with aggression to reduce self-defeating behavior and achieve their goals in a healthier way. We are now geared up to run two 12 week groups starting approximately every 6 weeks when referrals allow.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Group:This group is a 20 week long supportive skills training group for adults with difficulties identifying and dealing with their emotions, coping with stress, and interpersonal situations. This group is appropriate for clients in on-going individual therapy who experience frequent hospitalizations, interpersonal chaos, self-injurious and/or self-defeating behaviors. New members will be accepted in four-week intervals.
Mindfulness with Food:This is a 13 week group focusing on balanced eating as well as achieving a healthy relationship with food. Uses mindfulness skills from DBT.
Women’s group:This psycho-educational support group is for women struggling with issues related to problems with relationships, domestic violence, sexual trauma, addiction and co-dependency issues. The group will focus on building healthy relationships, learning effective coping skills and communication skills, and gaining support and understanding of violence and trauma-related issues.

FAMILY GROUP THERAPY

Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP): (ongoing) A monthly support group for persons raising a relatives child or grandparents raising grandchildren. The group is held on the second Thursday of the month from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. at the Oneida City Public Library. This program is being jointly sponsored by the Office for Aging, Mental Health, and Oneida City Public Library.
Mother’s Steps: (suspended due to lack of referrals) This group is designed to provide psycho-education and support for mothers who have experienced a disruption in the parenting of their children. The focus is on assisting mothers toward developing renewed relationships with their children. Topics include myths of motherhood, parenting alone or in a blended family, gender issues, legal issues and the courts, and the impact that an abuse history, relationship problems, financial problems, substance abuse, and domestic violence can have on one’s ability to parent.
Family Violence Treatment Program: (ongoing) - The Family Violence Treatment Program will be 24 weeks in length and will remain open to new participants throughout. The treatment will include both psycho-education and group process activities to reduce or eliminate the use of verbal or physical violence in managing their relationships.

FORENSIC SERVICES

Adult Sex-Offender Treatment: Basic Education. Designed to provide basic education regarding appropriate sexuality, sex education, laws regarding sexual behavior and consent, and strategies to avoid contact with potential victims for cognitively impaired perpetrators.
Extended Evaluation and Education Group-Phase I: (8-10 weeks; recurring) This is a psycho-educational group for individuals that committed a sex offense. During this phase individuals are evaluated for an extended period to determine suitability for further Sex Offender Treatment. Individuals who attend this group will learn about sexual abuse and its effects, the definitions of consent, coercion, and other forms of sexually abusive behavior, identifying warning signs for re-offense, introduction to relapse prevention and thinking errors associated with re-offense. Individuals are also required to complete a personal accountability statement.
Adult Sex Offender Treatment: Phase 2(ongoing) The content of this offense-specific treatment group is to help offenders reduce their denial and level of defensiveness. Offenders are educated about the cycle of sexual abuse and the potential for re-offending. Individual sessions, couples sessions, and family sessions are initiated as necessary, in addition to the group, to help educate the family members and any individuals identified as the offender’s support system about risk factors associated with re-offending. Offenders are taught to identify and correct their cognitive thinking errors and defense mechanisms. A court, probation, parole mandate, comprehensive evaluation, and polygraph examination are required for entry into the group.
Adult Sex Offender Treatment: Phase 3(ongoing) This group is the third phase of sex offender treatment and is a process therapy group. There is no set time limit for this phase. Individuals in this phase are challenged toward expanding insight and understanding about their sexually abusive behavior, promoting emotional development and appropriate emotional expression and empathy, engaging in specifically targeted exercises to reduce inappropriate arousal and increase appropriate arousal, developing and following an expanded relapse prevention plan with the cycle of alternatives that elicits support from others, developing multiple contingency plans for risk situations and strengthening social networks and support systems.
Adolescent Perpetrators Program:The program involves individual, family, and group treatment methods. A court or juvenile authority mandate, completion of a sexual assessment, and submission to polygraph examination are required for participation.
Other Forensic Evaluation Services: Evaluations are provided in the areas of Parental Competency, Custody and Visitation, Dangerousness to Others, and Competency to Stand Trial.
Pre-Treatment Group for Sexual Offenders:Is being planned and will be offered to inmates at the Madison County Public Safety building. The group will be designed to offer information and education about the nature of sexually aggressive and abusive behavior as well as to enhance self-awareness with regard to these issues. While this is not a treatment group, it will hopefully enhance participants ability to benefit from treatment when they are able to obtain it. If sufficient need exists, a treatment focused program may be offered to those who complete the pre-treatment program and who will remain incarcerated long enough to benefit from beginning a treatment program prior to release.

CHILD / ADOLESCENT GROUPS

Adolescent Anger Management:This 13 week group is geared toward helping adolescents manage their anger and to identify and communicate their feelings in appropriate ways. This group will be offered in time limited increments as referrals allow.
Adolescent DBT Group:This is an introductory 10 week supportive skills training group using Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for adolescents ages 14 to 17 who are having problems coping effectively with emotions, or are engaging in impulsive and/or self-destructive behaviors. The group will focus on improving skills to cope with stress, emotions, and interpersonal conflict. New referrals will be admitted at the beginning of each new module (approximately every 5 weeks).
Children’s Social Skills Group:This is an introductory 10 week supportive skills training group using Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for adolescents ages 14 to 17 who are having problems coping effectively with emotions, or are engaging in impulsive and/or self-destructive behaviors. The group will focus on improving skills to cope with stress, emotions, and interpersonal conflict. New referrals will be admitted at the beginning of each new module (approximately every 5 weeks).
We are pleased to announce that the mental health clinic now offers bright light therapy for the treatment of Season Affective Disorder (SAD). For more information, please contact our Clinic.
If there are additional identified needs for group opportunities, please contact Dr. Steve Adams, Clinic Program Director, with your ideas.

CEDAR HOUSE
Day Treatment Services

Day Treatment Services Cedar House is a continuing day treatment program using a psycho-social clubhouse model. Day Treatment services provide socialization and prevocational services to Madison County residents with severe mental illness. Members may be returning to the community from long or repeated stays in psychiatric hospitals or may attend in order to prevent hospitalization. Cedar House, based in a warm, supportive environment, has prevocational units in restaurant skills, report writing, clerical skills, and building and grounds maintenance. These are the first steps towards obtaining jobs in the community. Training in household budgeting, assertiveness, and other social skills enable members to function more productively, as do recreational and cultural activities. In addition to a work ordered day, Cedar House provides a ten week vocational program that helps those individuals who are ready to explore the world of work, or learn job skills necessary to return to, or begin employment. Cedar House provides a track for individuals who have co-occurring disorders of substance abuse and mental health. The program provides individual, family, and group treatment when indicated; coordination with other social and vocational agencies; and a medication clinic.
Cedar House
201 Cedar Street
Oneida, NY 13421
315-361-8413 / Fax 315-361-8450

SERVICES CONTRACTED WITH OTHER AGENCIES

701 Lenox Avenue, Oneida, NY 13421-1523

The Madison Cortland ARC provides services to individuals with developmentally disabilities. Preschool programs, prevocational/vocational training, community residences, family support services, service coordination, respite care, and a sheltered workshop are their main services.
218 Liberty Street, Oneida, NY 14321

Liberty Resources is a private, not-for-profit agency that works closely with the Mental Health Department. Liberty Resources provides an array of services that include supervised residences where skills are taught in the activities of daily living, case management, children and youth life enhancement, and other supportive services. Liberty Resources provides services to individuals and families with developmental disabilities, problems with alcohol and other substances, and mental health issues. Its tax-exempt status allows Liberty Resources to seek charitable contributions from interested benefactors.
RD1, Box 146 Route 46, Bouckville, NY 13310

Heritage Farm provides a warm family farm setting for prevocational activities, income-producing work, and supportive services to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. They are a not-for-profit group under contract to the Mental Health Department in addition to accepting charitable contributions.
BRiDGES - 697-3947; www.bridges-mccasa.org
3059 Seneca Turnpike, Canastota, NY 13032

BRiDGES provides advocacy services, establishes educational and referral services such as Employee Assistance Programs, and operates the County Drinking Driver Program. Under contract to the Mental Health Department, BRiDGES main purpose is public awareness, intervention, and education.
Consumer Services of Madison County, Inc. - 361-9131

1019 Northside Shopping Center, Oneida, NY 13421

Consumer Services of Madison County, Inc., is a private not-for-profit agency that provides the following services:
  1. Both intensive case management (ICM) and supportive case management (SCM) resources for children with emotional and behavioral problems
  2. Coordinated children’s services initiative (CCSI) which is a program that also works to provide community based resources for children with emotional and behavioral problems. This service provides peer supports to parents, flexible fund dollars, advocacy and parent support groups
  3. A Peer Specialists to provide community based support services to the seriously and persistently mentally ill adults in Madison County
  4. The only agency in Madison County currently accepting new referrals for a representative payee services for SSI
  5. Care-Free Drop-In-Center
  6. Early Education Intervention
  7. CSMC Food Services
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THESE SERVICES CALL
(315> 366-2327 OR
TOLL FREE IN NEW YORK STATE
1-800-721-2327


OTHER MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES ON THE WEB
American Psychological Association: Provides information for professionals and consumers on a wide variety of mental health issues.
New York State Psychological Association
Central New York Psychological Association
New York State Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors
National Association of Social Workers
New York State Association of Social Workers
New York State Office of Mental Health
New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services
This consumer-based group provides information and advocacy for individuals with mental health issues.