Mental Health Services

Triage Counseling

Triage Counseling is an assessment conducted at a client’s point of entry to health services which aims to categorize the urgency of mental health related problems. This involves the client receiving an initial screening evaluation and those classified as urgent (e.g., a danger to self or others, severe or psychotic symptoms) are given priority appointments.

Included in Triage Counseling are:

• Assessing the initial needs of the clients
• Scheduling initial intake appointments
• Providing back up for med management​
• Completing suicidal assessments
• Meeting with clients in times of crisis when a therapist is not available ​
• Allowing for client walk-in services for a needs assessment

“Being able to speak directly with someone…immediately truly helped me through my current situation.
A calm empathetic person listening…Made it possible to make it until my appointment.”
– an OBH client

Therapy

“Emma definitely helps keep me going. I don’t know where I’d be without her. I feel safe talking to her.”
– an OBH client

Common goals of therapy can be to inspire change or improve quality of life. People may seek therapy for help with issues that are hard to face alone. Therapy is also called psychotherapy, psychosocial therapy, talk therapy and counseling.   

Therapy can help people overcome obstacles to their well-being. It can increase positive feelings, such as compassion and self-esteem. People in therapy can learn skills for handling difficult situations, making healthy decisions, and reaching goals. Many find they enjoy the therapeutic journey of becoming more self-aware. Some people even go to ongoing therapy for self-growth.

If you or a loved one is suffering from mental health related challenges, Oneida Behavioral Health has therapy options to meet your needs. These include:

Individual Therapy: A trained professional helps a single person work through personal issues they are facing. It is an effective treatment for a variety of emotional difficulties and mental illnesses. Individual sessions are available for clients ages five (5) and older.

Couples Therapy: Is designed to resolve the problems in a relationship through honest communication and the building of trust with your spouse or significant other.

Family Therapy: Allows multiple family members to participate in the counseling. The helps family improve their communication and resolve conflicts.

Child Therapy: Emotional and mental health stress can impact the health a child and their family. Counseling can help a child and family learn:

• About their moods, feelings, thoughts and behaviors
• Good communication skills at home and at school
• How to work out problems and try out new solutions in a safe space
• How to deal with trauma and behavior problems

Counseling helps families grow stronger together. It helps children grow into strong, healthy adults.

Brainspotting:
“Where you look affects how you feel”
The brain is an incredible processing machine that digests and organizes everything we experience but trauma can overwhelm the brain’s processing capacity, leaving behind pieces of the trauma, frozen in an unprocessed state. Brainspotting (BSP) can minimize the influence of trauma, unpleasant emotions and uncover thinking patterns that are keeping a person stuck. Memories are not lost, but the “emotional charge” from the memory or the nonproductive thinking pattern will be cleared.

Those who have experienced either physical or emotional trauma, feel blocked in making progress in goals or performance, or challenged with faulty core beliefs may obtain benefit from BSP. This form of therapy has been shown to be an effective treatment option for those experiencing:

  • All forms of trauma (& PTSD)
  • Anxiety
  • Attention issues (ADHD)
  • Anger issues
  • Phobias
  • Substance abuse
  • Chronic fatigue and chronic pain
  • Impulse control issues
  • Sports performance issues
  • Eating disorders

The BSP trained clinician will ask you to choose an ‘issue’ that you would like relief from. While thinking about the issue, the clinician will ask you to share where in your body you feel the issue. You’ll be asked to rate the intensity of your feelings on a scale from 1-10. The clinician will lead you in an eye scan to find the position that seems to be strongly connected to this issue. After that, a rapid processing of memory, body responses, or verbal processing occurs, which results in the desired outcome– the issue gets resolved on a deeper level than talk therapy would allow.

 Click here to watch a brief video about Brainspotting featuring David Grand, Ph.D.

Gambling Assistance

Compulsive gambling is an emotional illness. It can impact a person’s entire family, both emotionally and physically. What was once a legitimate source of entertainment and recreation, can stress a family, financially and emotionally. Oneida Behavioral Health can offer assistance as you seek to restore balance in your life. 

Psychological Evaluations

“The staff is always very friendly on the phone or in person and your doctor’s are great as well.”
– an OBH client

OBH provides psychological evaluations, performed by a licensed psychologist, to diagnose a variety of mental health conditions or illnesses that impact memory, thought processes, and behaviors, such as anxiety, ADHD, bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia and other brain related health concerns. This includes: 

• Psychological Evaluation: The evaluation is used to determine the severity of the symptoms, root causes, coping skills, reasons for aggressive behavior and other mental health conditions. 
• Feedback Sessions: Following the evaluation, feedback sessions are used to discuss the findings from the evaluation and determine paths to improved mental health. 

“Dr. Sayers was phenomenal. Kind, compassionate, thorough.
Did his job wonderfully while being personal and real. Would certainly recommend.”
– an OBH client

Psychiatry

OBH has psychiatrists who specialize in mental health, including substance use disorders. They are qualified to assess both the mental and physical aspects of psychological problems and provide treatments. This includes:

• Adult and child evaluations: To assess client concerns with memory, thought processes, and behaviors. 
• Medication management: Provide guidance and prescribe/manage client medications. 

“Dr. Rodriguez was very professional and Helpful.. very good bed side manner.. very respectful..”
– an OBH client

Safe Care Pathway

You Are Not Alone: Safe Care Pathway Helps Identify Those at Risk for Suicide

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), during 2020, 12.2 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.2 million adults made a plan and 1.2 million adults attempted suicide. During the same year, 45,979 people died by suicide in the U.S. Suicide rates were highest among non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native persons.

That’s why at Oneida Behavioral Health (OBH), care providers view suicide prevention as an important part of treatment services for substance use disorders and mental health issues. Circumstances surrounding a substance use disorder or mental health challenge can lead to intense feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. These intense feelings, in turn, can contribute to increased substance use.

Through the Safe Care Pathway program at OBH, care providers work to identify individuals who may be at risk of suicide and create a customized safety plan to help the individual distance themselves from harmful thoughts. The program includes a variety of approaches, including the following:

Limiting access to weapons and other potentially lethal items. Limiting access to these items is not intended as a punishment, but rather as a means to reduce the opportunity for someone to harm themselves in moments of vulnerability.

Peer support. Support from those who are traveling a similar path is crucial for anyone struggling with addiction or mental health issues or who is at risk for suicide. Peer support helps a person understand that they are not alone and there are other people who can relate to their struggles and successes. Learn more about Oneida Behavioral Health’s weekday Wellness Support Group.

Frequent contact. With Safe Care Pathway, care providers have frequent contact with an individual, reaching out every three days or more to help the individual stick with his or her safety plan. While these contacts can have a truly positive impact, our work depends on those in challenging situations taking the first step and reaching out.

Reaching out for help when you experience unbearable pain is a sign of strength, not shame. You are not alone. We are here to listen when you or someone you love experiences despair, trauma, grief, depression or increased substance use. Safe Care Pathway is here to help. Call Oneida Behavioral Health today at (920) 490-3790.

Learn more about our Safe Care Pathway from Triage Counselor Keara Young

Social Work Services

Social workers help improve lives and communities by working with individuals, groups and families to address existing and prevent future challenges in their everyday lives. Oneida Behavioral Health offers youth and adult social work services and family support teams as an add-on service for existing clients. With details about your current circumstances, your primary therapist can complete a social work referral and submit it on your behalf.

Youth Social Work
Our providers work with children between 5 and 18 years of age providing: case management services, mental health check-ins, service coordination, connections to community and cultural activities, scheduled home and school visits, assistance with school needs, assistance with transportation (within reservation and as a last resort) and satellite offices in Seymour, OHS and Turtle. Social workers will also work in coordinated service teams for continuity in the plan of care.

Adult Social Work
Our providers also work with adults who are in need of social work services, either with or without substance use coordination needs. Social workers can assist with: long-term case management, resources for basic needs, referrals and services to meet client needs, navigating county programs, scheduled home visits and consultation with other providers regarding referrals.

Please talk to your Oneida Behavioral Health provider if you are interested in social work services.

Wellness Support Services

Triage Counselor Shelby Funseth Talks About the Wellness Support Group

Oneida Behavioral Health offers a Wellness Support Group on a weekly basis, Monday through Friday from 1:00 until 2:30 p.m. (excluding holidays). The goal of the group is to promote emotional wellness and wholeness in the self. The group is open to all Tribal eligible adults over the age of 18. No referral is needed.

Topics discussed include: 
     – Coping (Monday)
     – Community, Support, Outreach (Tuesday)
     – Relationships (Wednesday)
     – Emotions (Thursday)
     – Coping (Friday)

Please consider joining us to meet your immediate needs or concerns in a safe, supportive environment. Participants are welcome to attend as often as you like. We meet at Oneida Behavioral Health, 2640 West Point Road, Monday through Friday from 1:00 until 2:30 p.m. If you have questions or would like additional information, please call (920) 490-3790. 

Wellness Support Group Flyer