Tri County Mental Health

Tri County Mental Health Services is a mental health and addiction treatment center with decades of experience dealing compassionately and effectively with patients. The facility started working in the early 1950s when Father Cossette, a Catholic priest, set up the Catholic Bureau of Social Services in Lewiston to meet the overwhelming needs of families requiring counseling and other social services. A few years later in the late 1950s, other area agencies absorbed its non-counseling services following which the Catholic Bureau merged with Androscoggin Mental Health Services to become Child and Family Services.

In 1963, Child and Family Health Services was awarded the label of the first organization to receive Maine federal funds from the Community Mental Health Act. The presence of this institute ensured the residents of Maine they could access care and treatment for their mental illnesses and emotional challenges in the community instead of seeking help from hospitals. In 1972, Child and Family Health Services joined hands with two more organizations called Oxford County Mental Health Services and Franklin Area Mental Health Clinic to become Tri County Mental Health Services.

This extremely successful merger greatly expanded the mental health services the facility provided to the residents of three counties. Soon after the merger, Tri County upgraded itself to offer addiction-associated services and joined Western Maine Counseling in 1993 to expand its services to Northern Cumberland County.

More than 70 years following its initial establishment, Tri County Mental Health Services is working with a team of more than 200 hundred dedicated and professional clinicians, crisis workers, case managers, and other rehabilitation staff members. It currently covers seven counties, helping people with their mental health issues and addictions.

 Tri County Mental Health Services: The Mental Health Program Overview

Tri County Mental Health Services provides mental health treatment and recovery-focused services to adults, children, and families. Before beginning treatment, each patient goes through an assessment of their presenting problem, which helps determine the type of treatment that will most appropriately address their needs. Generally, Tri County Mental Health Services provides the following services as part of its mental health program.

Outpatient Services

Outpatient services at Tri County Mental Health Lewiston Maine provide a chance for all clients to keep engaging in recovery processes while living in their homes. These programs typically involve the following steps:

• Detailed intake assessments and evaluations
• Individualized treatment plans
• Group therapy

Assertive Community Treatment

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is an evidence-based practice that provides rehabilitation, treatment, and support to people using a recovery-based, person-centered approach. It caters to individuals with serious mental illness and provides the following services:

• community linkages
• mental health treatment
• assertive outreach
• vocational support
• family education
• integrated dual disorder treatment
• wellness skills
• peer support

These services in Lewiston are delivered by a multi-disciplinary team working from a community setting. This therapy aims to help individuals achieve meaningful goals and beneficial life roles.

Behavioral Health Homes

This is a holistic service that intends to help people manage their physical and behavioral health needs. A specialized team comprising a clinical team leader, a peer, a nurse, and health home coordinators delivers this service. As a part of the program, clients can receive case management, skills building, symptom management, coordination with healthcare providers, and peer support. Behavioral Health Homes services are readily available to people with MaineCare coverage in their homes, community, or several outpatient locations in Farmington, Rumford, Oxford, Bridgton, and Lewiston.

Children’s Behavioral Health Home

Children’s Behavioral Health Home, or Children’s BHH, is a holistic service that aims to help children and their families manage their emotional and behavioral needs. The team supervising this program includes a health home coordinator, nurse, clinical team leader, and family support, peer specialist. Health home coordinators are responsible for supporting the families by attending medical appointments, and school meetings, making referrals, and monitoring all services as they progress.

Adult Residential Treatment

Tri County Mental Health Services rehab currently offers three different adult residential living centers: All these facilities provide a supported and structured living environment to individuals who wish to learn how to live and function independently in the community. During their stay in these facilities, these individuals perform their day-to-day tasks under supervision while learning the skills they need to achieve their goals and targets.

Tri County Mental Health Services Substance Misuse Services

For people who have been abusing drugs or alcohol and cannot stop using them on their own, Tri County Behavioral Healthcare extends help and support. Through its extensive substance misuse program, the rehab provides recovery-focused services to the affected individuals and their families. At the moment, it is running the following programs as a part of its substance use treatment.

Syringe Exchange Program

Tri County Mental Health Services routinely runs a syringe exchange program that provides IV drug abusers a chance to get free sterile needles. These individuals can also opt for harm reduction counseling related to safer injection procedures, overdose prevention, vein health, and hepatitis and HIV vulnerability.

OPTIONS Program

The Overdose Prevention Through Intensive Outreach Naloxone and Safety (OPTIONS) initiative has been launched by Tri County Mental Health Services along with other state agencies. This program aims to help people abusing substances get on the road to recovery and dramatically reduce the overdoses in these communities. The program has successfully embedded licensed behavioral health clinics within local law enforcement agencies and emergency medical services of all counties across Maine.

Project Support You (PSY)

Project Support You is a unique partnership between Tri County Mental Health Services and Lewiston Police Department. As a part of this project, a counselor and an officer respond to all calls from people living and struggling with substance misuse, mental illness, or homelessness and ensure they get the help they need. During a call, a trained mental health expert tries to de-escalate an acute situation and conducts a short assessment to find the most appropriate referrals that ensure the safety of the caller. After taking consent, the referral can then be made to a primary care setup, outpatient counseling, hospital, or public housing.

FAQs

Does Tri County Mental Health Maple Woods offer a Veterans Program?

Yes, Tri County Mental Health Services is a Veterans Choice Provider and proudly caters to men and women who have been serving the country. However, keep in mind that those who seek help from this program need to be referred and authorized through the Mental Health Department at Togus Veterans Hospital in Augusta before they can start receiving services at one of the locations of Tri County.

What are the locations of Tri County Behavioral Healthcare?

Tri County Mental Health Services has several locations throughout Western and Central Maine, such as:

• Lewiston
• Bridgton
• Rumford
• Oxford