Northern Pines Mental Health Center is one of the clinics in Minnesota testing a new national model of mental and chemical health care, the Minnesota Department of Human Services reported in a release.
Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics are designed to bring together behavioral, chemical and physical health care for people with mental and substance use disorders, and serve as a "one-stop-shop" for both adults and children who have trouble getting the services they need.
Typically, a person with a mental illness will need to contact several different agencies to obtain various services, and rarely can someone obtain both mental health and substance use disorder treatment through the same agency. The new model intends to change that by offering services to adults with serious mental illness, children with serious emotional disturbance, and people with substance use disorders. The clinics will offer services such as primary care screening, cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and trauma-focused therapy for children.
Support for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics was part of Gov. Mark Dayton's $47 million commitment to the state's mental health care system, the release said. Last spring, six clinics began planning, and in the fall the Minnesota Department of Human Services certified the clinics across Minnesota as pilot sites:
• Northern Pines Mental Health Center in the north-central part of the state
ADVERTISEMENT
• Northwestern Mental Health Center serving seven northwest counties
• Wilder Children and Family Services in the Twin Cities metro area
• People Incorporated in the Twin Cities metro area
• Ramsey County Mental Health Center in the Twin Cities metro area
• Zumbro Valley Mental Health Center in Olmsted and Fillmore counties in the southeast
