Building a Brighter Future For Our Children and Families

I have always thought of Clifford Beers Clinic (CBC) as a “great” place that helps kids. I knew that the Clinic was some place I wanted to be a part of; a place that I could proudly believe in the mission. After all, who wouldn’t want to stand by a mission that states:

The mission of Clifford Beers Clinic isto provide accessible community-based mental health services and advocacy that promote healthy and resilient lives for children and families

I started working at CBC in January 2011. I worked in the New Haven non profit community for about seven years and knew that CBC had a great reputation so I was happy that I was offered the job. My first week was filled with learning and getting to know my new colleagues. I was taken a back at the warm welcome I received and the “openness” of the work environment. As a new employee, I was like, “wow, this place is pretty cool, I want to know more” so I went on a fact finding mission to explore the work we do, why we matter and how we help our children and families in Greater New Haven.

At CBC we see children and families that have undergone physical and sexual abuse, community violence, bereavement difficulties, learning disabilities, neglect and severe poverty. The healing begins when you can uncover the root of these issues. CBC is not just about “therapy” it is about collaboration between schools, parents, healthcare providers, community and a safe place to rest your head at night. Long gone are the days when we are able to “siphon” mental health without looking at an individual’s whole life.

I have learned that people don’t heal if they don’t have enough money to eat or they don’t feel safe at home. People do not heal if they go home to their abuser or they can’t identify a community despite the services they receive.

Clifford Beers Clinic works with children and families in a unique holistic way providing wrap-around care that extends beyond the boundaries of “therapy”. Our clinicians and care coordinators not only care for our families inside the clinic they also care for them outside of the clinic by engaging in partnerships with the following agencies: The New Haven Collaborative for Youth, Greater New Haven Domestic Violence Task Force, DCF Area Advisory Council, Yale New Haven Hospital- Adolescent Providers, New Haven Early Childhood Council, New Haven Juvenile Review Board, City Wide Youth Coalition, Covenant to Care-Mt. Zion Church, Superior Court for Juvenile Matters- Case Review Team, Planned Parenthood, Fair Haven Health Clinic and Mayor’s Wellness Committee to name a few.

Without these critical partnerships and the funding from United Way we could not help our children and families as effectively as we do.  

I interviewed six clinicians in the Clinic. All of whom have different specialties. Erin Cushing, LMFT IOP Program Manager, Karl Speirs, MS, MA(LMFT) Outpatient Clinician, Taiwan Richardson, JOTLAB Case Manager, Jennifer Clarke, HEARTS Program, Paola Serrecchia, Care Coordinator Child First, Kathleen Boudreaux, LCSW, Program Manager of Outpatient Services, Coordinator of the Intern Training Program, Carol Fenton, LCSW Associate Director of Satellite Programs and Services. And  Enroue Halfkenny, MSW Clinician for JOTLAB.

First, I had to learn the acronyms…

IOP- Intensive Outpatient Program. This is a program for kids that either been hospitalized for severe trauma or who maybe teetering on going inpatient.

HEARTS- program- provides sex education, HIV prevention and substance abuse prevention in a group setting.

JOTLAB- provides treatment for children and adolescents with problem sexual behaviors ranging from inappropriate touch to sexual assault. Males and Females 9-18 years of age participate in individual, group and family therapy.

Child First- Identifies young children and families with serious challenges and provides comprehensive assessment, parent/child intervention and connection to broad, well integrated services and supports in order to prevent serious emotional disturbance, developmental, learning problems and abuse and neglect.

Then I learned how special this place is…

As you can imagine, this type of work takes extreme dedication. Kathleen Boudreaux has been at the Clinic for 25 years and has changed many lives. She said something that I will never forget. “ We are the witnesses to their pain and that is an honor”.

Karl Speirs has integrated a fairly new type of therapy in his practice called EMDR. EMDR Involves recalling a stressful past event and “reprogramming” the memory in the light of a positive, self chosen belief, while using rapid eye movements to facilitate the process. Enroue Halfkenny uses meditation in JOTLAB to help facilitate compassion and forgiveness.

I guess what I am trying to say, is that we have a really special group here at CBC.

Erin Cushing was holding an IOP group and she asked the kids, “what seems to “work” for you all in this group/ “Why do you like coming here.” A 14 year old girl summed it up best:

"I feel safe here.  I can sit on the front step and wait for my cab and know that I'm not going to be in the middle of a shooting, a drug deal, or a fight like I worry about in my own neighborhood.  I like coming here because I don't have to think about anything else."

I am so happy to be a part of a place that provides a couple of hours of peace for a child who is surrounded by violence. Everyday, I see children in the waiting room and hallways of the Clinic and know that they just might find a spark of hope here that will lead them to a brighter future.