Services Overview

Services Offered

All of the services and programs offered by Children's Service Center fall within what we call an "integrated system of care." Our services are listed and briefly described below, with the name of the appropriate contact person.

Adoption/Foster Care: A continuum of adoption support services for domestic and international adoptions. The program is affiliated with the Wendy's Wonderful Kids Program and the State Wide Adoption Network (SWAN). Shari Menichello, smenichello@e-csc.org

Substance Use Disorder Program: CSC provides drug and alcohol counseling to adolescents and adults. Our specially trained counselors specialize in the unique aspects of teenagers and adults with alcohol and/or drug issues. Eric Pollick, epollick@e-csc.org

Autism: Intensive therapy in home, school, and community settings for children and adolescents diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, using Applied Behavioral Analysis. Shelley Loughney, sloughney@e-csc.org

Base Service Unit: All clients entering the CSC integrated system of care receive a full behavioral health assessment by well trained and qualified professionals. This assessment determines the clinical plan: a collaborative approach between the treatment team, the family and youth.

Behavioral Health Rehabilitation Services: Behavioral health services provided in the home, school, or community. The program is based on individual needs determined by psychological assessment. Includes Mobile Therapy, Therapeutic Staff Support and Behavioral Specialists. Carolanne Jones-Leco, cjones@e-csc.org

Blended Case Management: Specially trained staff coordinate psychiatric, financial, legal, and medical services to help an adult, child or adolescent with behavioral health needs live successfully at home and in their community. For child or adolescent services contact Mara DeQuevedo, mdequevedo@e-csc.org or Kristin Tewksbury, ktewksbury@e-csc.org. For adult services contact Teresa Pinkey, tpinkey@e-csc.org or Patricia Roper, proper@e-csc.org.

Crisis Services: Trained individuals and teams respond to personal crises in the home or community. Professional in-person assessments, recommendations, consultations with mental health providers and follow-ups are provided as needed. This service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Laura Schuckers, lschuckers@e-csc.org

Day Partial Hospitalization Services: Provides intensive treatment up to five days a week by trained mental health staff under the clinical direction of a psychiatrist. The program provides kindergarten through high school education. Sydney Szafranovicz, sszafranovicz@e-csc.org

Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services: Certified practitioners provide day treatment and support to help those with chronic mental illness develop skills and access resources to lead successful and satisfying lives in the living, working, learning, and social environments of their choice. Jude Carter, jcarter@e-csc.org

Family Finding Services: By utilizing effective and extensive relative search processes, the Children's Service Center's (CS) Family Finding Service aims to discover relatives and engage them in the planning and decision making of important aspects of child's life.

Family Based Services: Teams of specialists in family therapy provide intensive home treatment and support to families in crisis. This program is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The emphasis is on preventing out-of-home placement of the child or adolescent. Kimberly Lawall, klawall@e-csc.org

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Serves: Children's Service Center experts provide assessment, treatment, and support to help those with FASD address physical, educational, and social challenges, while renewing hope and setting a plan for better, brighter futures. Our team works to ensure that clients have clinical, psycho-social, and other resources to address challenges at home, school, and work. Summer Krochta, skrochta@e-csc.org

Medication Clinic: Medication assessments by a psychiatrist trained and skilled in child and adolescent behavioral health. Regular medical follow-up of prescribed medication is required. Stacey Ishley, sishley@e-csc.org

Outpatient Services: Behavioral health assessments and treatment services under the clinical direction of a psychiatrist. Laura Jacoby, ljacoby@e-csc.org

Telepsychiatry Services: CSC uses this interactive audio and visual electronic system to enable a Wilkes-Barre based psychiatrist to work with patients in other service areas. Laura Jacoby, ljacoby@e-csc.org

Community & School Based Behavioral Health: Based on-site in a school, CSBBH teams provide a behavioral health home for youths and families, offering therapeutic support in the school, home and community. Flexible and easy to access, CSBBH offers individual, family and group therapy, parenting support, case management, crisis management, and school advocacy and consultation. Carolanne Jones-Leco, cjones@e-csc.org

Student Assistance Program: Mental health liaisons work with local schools to provide screenings, assessments, staff and family consultations, in-services, and prevention/education services. State approved staff also conduct Student Assistance Program trainings for the region. Christa Richards, SAP Supervisor/Lead SAP Trainer, crichards@e-csc.org

Youth Skills Development: This program will individually assess and address each youth's risk factors that have the greatest impact upon potentially reducing recidivism, if addressed with the appropriate intervention or treatment. The program will focus on youth's strengths and build on them to develop needed life skills.

Evidence-Based Therapies

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) An evidenced-based treatment developed by Marsha Linehan used for effectively treating Borderline Personality Disorder, addictions, mood disorders, and self injurious behaviors. During group sessions, clients are educated and provided with tools to enhance the following skills: core mindfulness, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness and distress tolerance. DBT treatment will involve enhancing clients/families abilities, improving client/parent's motivation to change, ensuring new-found capabilities are applied to client's daily life, active parent participation with client during weekly group sessions, and weekly homework assignments to practice and reinforce skills taught in group. Research shows that skills training strengthens a person's ability to handle stress without losing control or acting destructively.

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) Therapists work with children and caregivers to improve listening skills, attention proficiency and behavior. PCIT is an evidence-based program, which means that the therapies involved have been researched extensively and proven to be very effective. Desiree Vanderlick, dvanderlick@e-csc.org

First Episode Psychosis (HOPE) Hope is a form of treatment for individuals between the ages of 15-25 who are experiencing early signs of psychosis. The coordinated care approach of staff emphasizes shared decision making and focus on helping individuals reach their recovery goals. Treatment is provided by a specially trained core team and the goal is to engage a person early in treatment. A psychotic episode is treatable and HOPE can assist in preventing further occurrences. With appropriate interventions most people successfully recover and return to their normal daily lives. Patrick Wall, pwall@e-csc.org

Aggression Replacement Therapy (ART) Aggression Replacement Therapy (ART) is a group focused on assisting youth in managing their anger and learning more pro-social behaviors. ART groups occur three times a week and are broken down into three different categories. Social Skills groups assist youth in learning appropriate skills that enhance positive communication. Anger control groups focus on the anger cycle and facilitators collaborate with the group members to identify their stages of the anger cycle while teaching positive coping skills to manage feelings of anger. Moral Reasoning groups utilize group members views and rely on the peer teaching technique in which peers challenge one another to increase the groups stage of morality. The ART cycle occurs on a 10 week basis and is a closed group.

Robinson Counseling Center

Children's Service Center operates at private outpatient practice with a Board Certified Psychiatrist and Licensed children, adolescents, and adults in individual and group therapy.

Locations: