Mental Health Services

Learn more about mental health services for children and adolescents.

RBHA assists youth living with a behavioral health diagnosis and/or social or personality problems that require intervention. To be eligible for services at RBHA, individuals must be residents of the City of Richmond. RBHA offers a continuum of services for youth and their families with obtaining supports for their emotional, behavioral, psychiatric, social, medical, educational, and employment needs.

Case Management Services

The core service provided at RBHA is case management. Child & Family Mental Health Case Management Services includes assisting children and adolescents with accessing treatment and support for behavioral, emotional, psychiatric, social, and medical needs as well as accessing supports related to education and housing.

Case Management services include, but are not limited to:

Linking families to and coordinating with other needed services and service providers
Providing on-going assessment, monitoring, education, assistance, and supportive counseling
Maintaining contact with the youth and family as often as needed to make progress and support their recovery
Providing support services wherever is appropriate and needed – in the home, school, office, or other community locations
Advocating on behalf of the child and family in school meetings, legal hearings and court processes, social service involvements, and other community involvement.

Psychiatric Services

Psychiatric Services are provided to youth under the age of 18 who are at risk of serious emotional disturbance and/or children and adolescents who have a diagnosis of serious emotional disturbance.

Psychiatric services from the Children’s Mental Health Division are also offered to youth who may be receiving services from other divisions such as Developmental or Adolescent Substance Use Disorders. The child or adolescent is referred for psychiatric services by the RBHA primary service provider (PSP), a supervisor, or directly by the psychiatrist.

Psychiatric services may include, but are not limited to the following:

Psychiatric evaluations
Medication management
Psychiatric consultations, as needed
Emergency psychiatric evaluations, as needed
Determination of Certificate of Need for other private/public referrals

Outpatient Psychotherapy

Outpatient Psychotherapy Services are offered for Adults, Children, and Families experiencing a variety of mental health and behavioral issues. Psychotherapy is available to individuals that receive other services at the RBHA such as medication management, case management, or other specialized programming. The service is designed to be time-limited, 10-12 sessions, but is based on the assessed treatment needs of the individual. Licensed Clinicians utilize a variety of evidenced-based, trauma-informed treatment approaches and modalities in providing psychotherapy.

Two new therapies that RBHA now offers to children and adolescents are:

Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)

RBHA provides Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) within the Outpatient Psychotherapy Program. PCIT is a short-term, specialized evidence-based behavior management program for young children between the ages of 2 and 7, experiencing behavioral and/or emotional difficulties. PCIT works with the child and caregiver to improve overall behavior and to reduce parenting stress. PCIT is an exceptionally effective treatment backed by over 30 years of research. Live, real-time coaching is a hallmark of PCIT. The therapist will observe the caregiver and child interaction, then provide live coaching in the PCIT skills. Caregivers and therapist work together to manage challenging child behaviors. At the completion of PCIT, parents/caregivers generally report a high level of satisfaction and decreased parental stress levels. PCIT requires a 14-18 week commitment by the parent/caregiver and child with one session per week.

The goals of PCIT include:

Improve the parent/caregiver-child relationship
Improve children’s minding and listening skills
Increase children’s ability to manage frustration and anger
Increase children’s social skills
Improve children’s attention skills
Build children’s self-esteem
Improve parents’ use of appropriate discipline strategies
Help parents set developmentally appropriate expectations for their child

Referrals for PCIT can be made by the ongoing RBHA service provider or recommended at Rapid Access.

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

RBHA provides Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) within the Outpatient Psychotherapy Program. TF-CBT is an evidence-based, psychotherapy model for children and adolescents ages 3-18 who are experiencing clinically significant emotional and behavioral difficulties related to traumatic life events they have experienced. TF-CBT is a relatively brief (typically 12-20 weekly sessions), treatment model that incorporates interventions and techniques based on cognitive, behavioral, family therapy, and humanistic principles. TF-CBT is designed to reduce symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), trauma-related depression, anxiety, and behavior problems, and common trauma-related cognitive and emotional problems such as fear, shame, embarrassment, guilt, and self-blame. TF-CBT also improves caregiver support of the child, parenting skills, and parent-child communication.

The goals of TF-CBT are to enable children and youth who have experienced serious traumatic events, and their supportive caregivers to:

learn effective skills to cope with trauma-related emotional and behavioral problems
face and resolve those problems in a safe and therapeutic way, and
effectively integrate their trauma experiences and help them move on with their lives in a safe and positive manner.

TF-CBT has been found to be an effective treatment with children and families from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. TF-CBT received the highest rating for effectiveness from several independent rating programs (e.g., California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare, the OVC Guidelines Project, and the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices).

Referrals for TF-CBT can be made by the ongoing RBHA service provider or recommended at Rapid Access.

School-Based Services

Therapeutic Day Treatment

The TDT program serves youth in Richmond Public Schools identified as having significant behavioral and/or emotional problems that are impacting their success in the school environment.

The goals of TDT are to reduce suspensions, improve school attendance, and support children’s success in school, at home, and in the community.

RBHA Staff also provide staff development and training opportunities to Richmond Public School personnel in the areas of trauma informed care, classroom management, understanding mental health in youth, and de-escalation techniques.

CLICK HERE to view or download the TDT brochure.

Hospital Liaison Services

Hospital Liaison staff provide follow-along case management services for individuals hospitalized in state psychiatric facilities. Services include attending treatment team meetings, preparing discharge plans, and connecting individuals to appropriate community-based services. Individuals being discharged from state hospitals are linked to necessary treatment and supportive services allowing for continuity of care.

Multi-Systemic Therapy (MST)

Multi-systemic Therapy (MST) is an intensive family- and community-based treatment that addresses the multiple determinants of serious antisocial behavior in juvenile offenders.

In order to provide a more intensive service, clinicians carry a small caseload of 4 to 6 families. MST is an evidence-based treatment. Services are primarily home-based, but treatment may also take place in other natural settings. MST clinicians provide individual and family counseling, case management, and 24-hour crisis management.

The primary goals of MST are to reduce rates of antisocial behavior in the adolescent, reduce recidivism, reduce out-of-home placements, and to empower parents with the skills and resources needed to independently address future difficulties.

Referral sources may include the Richmond Court Services Unit, The Richmond Family Assessment and Planning Team, Richmond City Schools, other mental health professionals, and RBHA staff working with the consumer.

Intensive Care Coordination

Intensive Care Coordination (ICC) services are designed to safely and effectively maintain, transition, or return a child/adolescent home or to a relative’s home, family-like setting, or community, at the earliest appropriate time that addresses that child’s needs.

The functions of ICC are to be above and beyond the normal service provision case management services, and include comprehensive clinical evaluation, strengths and needs assessments, identification of supports, extensive service planning and implementation, discharge planning, intensive case management, and utilization of review of service providers. 