Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic
The Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic is staffed by eight licensed therapists and three psychiatrists who are board certified to work with children and adolescents. The Outpatient Clinic offers individual and family psychotherapy, psychiatric assessment, and medication management. The therapists in the Outpatient Clinic are specially trained to work with children, adolescents and families.

In the past year, the Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic served 438 clients, with a special emphasis on children and families. Approximately 80% of the clients were under the age of 18. Many of the clients are self-referred or come to us through recommendations from friends or family.

Other clients are referred by other social service agencies and the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department. The Clinic also collaborates with La Familia’s Treatment Foster Care program by offering therapy and psychiatry services to many of the children placed in TFC.

Therapies in the Outpatient Clinic take a positive, solution-focused approach that gives primary importance to the client’s goals and the client’s highest functioning. Specialized therapies include Sand Tray therapy, EMDR, attachment-based interventions, anger management training, and certified Boys Town Common Sense Parenting Training. Clients present a wide range of clinical issues, including recovery from abuse and neglect, oppositional behavior, anxiety, depression, adoption issues, anger management and substance abuse.

During the year, the clinic provided more than 5,550 therapy sessions and approximately 2,100 psychiatry sessions. The average monthly census was 284 clients, with approximately 110 clients receiving both therapy and psychiatry services, 130 receiving psychiatry only, and 44 receiving therapy only.

Case Management Program
The Case Management Program is specifically licensed by the State of New Mexico to provide case management services to children and adolescents on Medicaid. Case managers examine how clients interface with the larger community and help each client access the resources they need to help them reach heir goals.

As with the Outpatient Clinic, the program’s two case managers specialize in serving children and their families. Many of the clients are referred from the Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic and from La Familia’s Treatment Foster Care program.

During the past year the Case Management Program served 78 clients. The average monthly census for the program was 40 clients.

Developments
One of the major activities during 2002-03 was preparation for La Familia’s COA (Council on Accreditation) recertification.

The process included a comprehensive update of all internal procedures for therapy, psychiatry and case management services.

The team also revised most clinical and administrative documents and reorganized all clinical charts. The hard work was amply rewarded with COA recertification with no deficiencies and no correc-tive action required. Other developments:

• Hired two new Spanish-speaking therapists, greatly enhancing the agency’s ability to provide clinical services to the Spanish-speaking community in Albuquerque.

• One of the new therapists is an LADAC (Licensed Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor, a specialized licensure to treat substance abuse disorders), creating the agency’s first opportunity to serve people with substance abuse issues.

• The other new therapist is a certified Boys Town Common Sense Parenting Trainer, enabling staff to refer clients who need specific parenting training.

• Hired a Masters level social worker to provide services to RFK Charter High School, expanding the range of clinical services available to the student population.

• Conducted peer reviews and chart reviews consistently, reinforcing the department’s commitment to Continuous Quality Improvement.