Youth and Family Services Program to offer help for those affected by addiction

Through the continued efforts to help provide treatment and support to each person in the family system affected by addiction, Perry County Probate/Juvenile Court Judge Luann Cooperrider and the staff will now be offering a new program developed by Perry Behavioral Health Choices, Inc. called Youth and Family Services.

"The focus will be to provide individual, group and family substance use treatment for youth under the age of 18," explained Judge Cooperrider. "The program will assist with services for youth and families affected by addiction including marital or relationship therapy with the focus on substance abuse recovery."

The program will include mothers, and their children who are recovering together in an eight week program for phase one. Phase two will cover family therapy, communication, problem solving and daily living in recovery. Phase two may be up to 12 weeks. Another part of this unique program will be phase three, which will include relapse prevention with is paramount to recovery.

"Lisa Harper, LISW-CS was selected as the Program Supervisor for Youth & Family Services," stated PBHC Executive Director Theressa Snyder, adding, "PBHC is excited to have this new program in such capable hands. I have long felt that as an agency our program could do much better by our clients if we were more inclusive of their children and families. We have taken our adoption of Recovery Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC) which makes the client and their families/support system as the central focus of Care. This new program does just that, focuses on healing the client and those closest to them. The ROSC model of care is completely aligned with the goals of the Perry County Juvenile Court, making this an ideal partnership." PBHC has every intention of making its Youth & Family Services one of our most valuable programs."

Judge Cooperrider also emphasized it is thought that this program is unique, and offered in very few places in the state.

"Both of the staffs (Juvenile Court and PBHC) are committed to helping the people of Perry County and their families with recovery from addiction," concluded Judge Cooperrider.