Treatment & Support

Referrals are initiated by the submission of a Single Point of Access application (SPOA) to the SPOA Coordinator of Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health.

For more information, please contact Amelia Ruppmann at 914-345-5900, ext. 7535 or ruppmana@mhawestchester.org.

ACHIEVE – System of Care High Fidelity Wraparound is a care management program for Severely Emotionally Disturbed (SED) children aged five to twenty-one years of age.  Families in this program participate in an evidence-based model of care coordination called High Fidelity Wraparound.  Care Managers receive specialized training and supervision by the New York State Office of Mental Health Staff. This program is part of New York State’s System of Care SAMHSA Grant.  ACHIEVE – System of Care High Fidelity Wraparound is part of Health Homes Serving Children and provides services to children with Medicaid who score a high acuity on the CANS assessment.

Services are individualized, community-based care coordination to children and their families to improve the family’s ability to keep the child at home and out of residential care. Services focus on reducing emergency room visits and inpatient hospitalizations.  Specially trained Care Managers experienced in working with children who have serious emotional/behavioral issues meet regularly with children and families in their homes. Staff collaborates with parents and community service providers using a strength-based model that identifies a care team for each family, and advocates for needed and appropriate services to promote the successful care of children within their homes and communities.  Care Managers provide 24-hour telephonic crisis intervention services and arrange for therapeutic, educational, recreational, respite and family support services.

In collaboration with the Departments of Probation of Westchester and Rockland Counties, MHA operates Adult Sex Offender Programs (ASO). Sex Offender services utilize a particular application of a cognitive behavioral approach, with the goal of  preventing future re-offense and promoting positive behavioral change. Services are provided by  licensed and specifically trained therapists. Although Sex Offender services are unlike traditional mental health treatment in significant ways, such as limited confidentiality, close collaboration with the Probation Department and community supervision provided by the Department of Probation, MHA’s program retains the professional stance of all of its services which are recovery-oriented and trauma informed. Group work is an important component of Sex Offender Treatment.

To learn more about our Westchester ASO program, please contact: Gayane Minasian, Ph.D., at minasiag@mhawestchester.org

To learn more about our Rockland ASO program, please contact: Thomas Palmieri, LCSW, C-DBT, at palmiert@mhawestchester.org

MHA staff can help individuals apply for various benefits, including Medicaid, SNAP and Social Security. To learn more, please call our team at 914-265-7584 or 914-327-9072

Our Care Management services, uniquely tailored to meet the comprehensive needs of each individual, help people become - and remain - healthy while avoiding hospitalization. Care Managers help individuals obtain the services they need, which may include seeing medical specialists, successfully transitioning from an inpatient hospital admission to another setting, and obtaining social supports such as housing. Additional services may include family support and referral to community and social support services. 

For more information, please contact Michael Went at 914-345-5900, ext. 7550 or wentm@mhawestchester.org.
 

Our Crisis Stabilization program provides an innovative team approach to stabilizing children at risk for behavioral health crises through short-term mental health consultation and treatment, intensive crisis respite support, and family peer advocacy. These services are provided to children and their families at home or other community-based locations by a team of professionals representing a variety of agencies, including MHA.  Crisis Stabilization services are available to children whose symptoms and behaviors put them at risk for admission to a psychiatric hospital or ER, but for whom safety can be assured for at least 72 hours (child is not at imminent risk of danger to self or others). Crisis Stabilization is contracted through the Department of Community Mental Health.

For more information, please contact Kathy Moccio at 914-345-5900, ext. 7544 or mocciok@mhawestchester.org

The Cross Systems Unit (CSU) provides PINS Pre-Diversion/Preventive Services to children ages 10 to 18, who are at risk of family court involvement and/or out-of-home placements. CSU is a collaboration of the Department of Probation, the Department of Social Services, and the Department of Community Mental Health. Together, we use a multidisciplinary approach to create family-driven, strength-based, and individualized responses that assure safety and well-being of youth and families throughout Westchester County. MHA mental health care managers bring an array of services and expertise for children with serious social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. CSU provides an assessment, by a team of experts in the field, and offer a menu of services to best meet the needs of the family. Pre-Diversion/Preventive Services include casework counseling, information and referral, and a variety of contracted services, including family therapy and substance use and mental health treatment. CSU is a contract service through the Westchester County Department of Social Services.

For more information, please contact Michaele McIlnay at 914-345-5900, ext. 7518 or mcilnaym@mhawestchester.org.
For CSU referrals, contact Jennifer Doherty at 914-995-5360
For Safe Harbor referrals, contact Viviana Espinosa at 914-995-7458

Children and Family Treatment and Support Services (CFTSS) are available to any youth, from zero to 21 years of age, who has Medicaid and meets medical necessity. Services are provided in the home or community, and referrals can come from any source, including family, schools, pediatricians, and clinicians.

Services include:

• Other Licensed Practitioner (OLP): This service, delivered by a licensed behavioral health practitioner, provides an initial assessment, during which the youth's strengths and areas of need are explored, a diagnosis provided and a treatment plan developed. If it is determined that the youth meets medical necessity for OLP, the OLP can provide ongoing psychotherapy, crisis intervention and treatment planning. Whether or not the youth is deemed appropriate for OLP, the OLP can also recommend the youth the other CFTS services. To meet medical necessity, the youth must have, or be at risk of developing, a behavioral health diagnosis which is impacting their functioning.
• Community Psychiatric Supports and Treatment (CPST): This service can provide a combination of six different therapeutic and functional supports, intended to address challenges with a behavioral health need and achieve identified goals or objectives. Supports can include: Intensive Interventions, Crisis Avoidance, Intermediate Term Crisis Management, Rehabilitative Psychoeducation, Strengths Based Service Planning and Rehabilitative Supports.
• Psychosocial Rehabilitation (PSR): This service is designed to restore, rehabilitate and support the youth's developmentally appropriate functioning. PSR assists with implementing interventions on a treatment plan to compensate for, or eliminate, functional deficits and interpersonal and/or behavioral health barriers associated with a youth's behavioral health needs. Activities are "hands on" and task-oriented. Service components can include a focus on strengthening social and interpersonal skills, daily living skills and community integration. 
• Family Peer Support Services: This service, provided by an individual with their own lived experience, supports families and caregivers to help address the needs of their child.
• Youth Peer Support and Training: This service, provided by an individual with their own lived experience, supports the youth in being informed and proactive in the planning and delivery of their services.

Click here for the CFTSS referral form.

Our Mobile Mental Health clinicians provide mental health treatment and care management services in the home, or other community location, for high-risk children between the ages of five and 18 who have behavioral health conditions and have had difficulty benefiting from traditional behavioral health treatments in a clinic setting.  The goal is to address emotional and behavioral concerns from a family perspective, help the youth and family develop better coping strategies, and avoid out of home placement or psychiatric hospitalization.  Our clinicians support recovery by providing services that reflect our deeply held values that include the recognition of individual rights of self-determination, choice, shared decision-making and collaboration.

Referrals for these services are made through Westchester County Children's Single Point of Access process. Click here for the SPOA Form. 

For more information, please contact Kathy Moccio at 914-345-5900, ext. 7544 or mocciok@mhawestchester.org

MHA’s Community Oriented Recovery and Empowerment (CORE) Services are person-centered, recovery-oriented, mobile behavioral health services that support and empower individuals to help further self-development and work towards their personal and professional goals. CORE services include Community Psychiatric Support and Treatment (CPST), Psychosocial Rehabilitation, Family Support and Training (FST), and Empowerment/Peer Support Services. CORE Services provide opportunities for eligible adult Medicaid beneficiaries to receive services in their own home or community. 

These services are available to HARP eligible and approved individuals. HARP eligible individuals include those who are 21 years or older, are insured by Medicaid managed care, are enrolled in a Health Home and have a Care Manager. To learn more about Health and Recovery Plans (HARP), click here for information from OMH.

Learn more about CORE here: English, Spanish

MHA's Driving Towards Resilience program provides neighborhood and community based services for individuals living in Rockland and Westchester counties through our behavioral health mobile units.

Our mobile units will be available in the community at scheduled designated sites. They are fully equipped with spaces for confidential conversations, as well as space for those seeking connection and support in a calm and welcoming environment, and capacity for telehealth connection to additional resources.

Our team of Licensed Clinicians, Care Managers, Peer Specialists and Medical Staff provide mental health-related services, screenings and referrals.

Check out our calendar to see where we are in Rockland County

Check out our calendar to see where we are in Westchester County

For more information, please contact Thomas Palmieri, LCSW, C-DBT at PalmierT@mhawestchester.org or (914) 345-0700 Ext. 7425.

MHA offers the Encompass Program in our clinics, including school-based sites. The program is a unique evidence-based, integrated treatment for adolescents and young adults with substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health problems. Treatment consists of 12-16 weekly individual sessions, but may also include 1-2 family sessions. Encompass uses cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational enhancement approaches to facilitate acquisition of new skills and coping strategies to reduce harmful substance use and improve mental health. Motivational incentives are used to reinforce abstinence and increase engagement in non-drug prosocial activities to promote a healthy, sustainable drug-free lifestyle. The clinical team provides comprehensive psychiatric and diagnostic evaluation, treatment of co-occurring conditions such as depression, anxiety disorders, attention-deficit disorder, trauma, anger, loss, and other mental health challenges along with medication services (psychopharmacology and MAT therapies). 

Encompass is offered in select community and school-based settings, with clinical consultation provided by Encompass developer Dr. Paula Riggs and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine. This is made possible thanks to the award of a Promising Practices grant by WMCHealth to Family Services of Westchester in collaboration with the harris project. Additional support is provided by the Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health.

To learn more, please contact Eva Nunez-Paulino, Vice President of Clinic Operations at PaulinoE@mhawestchester.org or 914-666-4646.

We are proud to offer one-on-one care, advocacy, respite and parent education for families who participate in MHA programs and who have a child who has been diagnosed with a behavioral health condition or behavioral challenge.

Click here for our referral form. 

For more information, please contact Kathy Moccio at 914-703-8021 or mocciok@mhawestchester.org

For more information, please contact David Petti, LCSW, SIFI at pettid@mhawestchester.org.

Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) are a set of recovery-oriented services available to HARP eligible and approved individuals.  HCBS services include Vocational Services, Educational Services, as well as Habilitation Services. Our full staff are available to meet the needs of each individual’s goals towards recovery.

HARP eligible individuals include those who are 21 years or older, are insured by Medicaid managed care, are enrolled in a Health Home and have a Care Manager.

For more information about HCBS, click here for a brochure from the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH). To learn more about Health and Recovery Plans (HARP), click here for information from OMH.

Learn more about HCBS here: English, Spanish

For more information or to request HCBS services, please contact Heli Minano at 914 345-5900 x7591 or minanoh@mhawestchester.org.

Health Home Serving Children (HHSC) is a care management program for children aged birth to twenty-one years of age.  Children are eligible for services by qualifying in one the following categories: Severely Emotionally Disturbed, HIV, Complex Trauma or by having two or more qualifying medical conditions. HHSC Care Management Services are individualized, community-based care coordination to children and their families to improve the family’s ability to keep the child at home and out of residential care. Services focus on reducing emergency room visits and inpatient hospitalizations.  Specially trained Care Managers experienced in working with children who have serious emotional/behavioral issues meet regularly with children and families in their homes. Staff collaborates with parents and community service providers using a strength-based model which identifies a care team for each family, and advocates for needed and appropriate services to promote the successful care of children within their homes and communities.  Care Managers provide 24-hour telephonic crisis intervention services and arranges for therapeutic, educational, recreational, respite and family support services. 

The Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) provides a step up in care for individuals 18 years or older who are at risk of hospitalization or re-hospitalization. Through individual and group therapy, as well as medication management, IOP helps individuals learn and utilize adaptive coping skills while creating and strengthening natural and community support systems. Care can be accessed five days a week for up to six weeks, and the IOP team can also provide connections to other supports at MHA, including peer support, employment services and CASACs.

For more information about IOP services, please contact Neeva Kleiman, LMSW at (914) 949-345-5900, ext. 7301 or kleimann@mhawestchester.org.

Linking Individuals to Needed Community Supports (LINCS) is an innovative program designed to offer comprehensive and personalized support to individuals struggling with substance use and other life challenges.

Eligibility: Whether you’re facing substance use or other life challenges, LINCS is here for you. Individuals can self-refer, or their providers can refer them to LINCS.

LINCS Services: Our services are intended to complement those of existing providers. We offer:

• Community Connections: Outreach & Engagement, Connection to Community Resources, Services, and Supports. Linkage to Experience Professionals.
• Peer Services: Peer Support, Peer Advocacy, Peer Navigation. Work with someone who’s personally faced the same or similar obstacles and challenges.
• Coaching: Recovery Coaching, Wellness Coaching, and Life Coaching. Providing Guidance toward Self-Empowerment.
• Rehabilitation Services: Psycho-Social Rehabilitation (PSR) and Psychiatric Rehabilitation. Helping you develop goals and solutions to your life challenges.

Accessing LINCS Services: For more information or to get started, please contact Aurel Smith at 914-715-2257 or SmithAu@mhawestchester.org. We’re here to connect you with the support you need on your journey to recovery.

The Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT) is a partnership with eight different police departments in Westchester County, including Greenburgh, White Plains, Tarrytown, Elmsford, Hastings-on-Hudson, Ardsley, Irvington, and Dobbs Ferry. MCRT offers support to individuals in crisis to provide brief intervention and facilitate access to other crisis/behavioral health services. Dispatched and deployed through the police department, MCRT provides appropriate care and support to help individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis avoid unnecessary emergency department use and hospitalization. MCRT offers an assessment of behavioral health symptoms and crisis-related needs, development of a safety plan or crisis prevention plan, therapeutic communication, referral and linkage to appropriate community services, and more.

Please note: Service is only deployed through police dispatch and is not accessible by contacting MHA for support. 
 
If someone is in imminent danger of hurting themselves or someone else, please call 911. 
 
Crisis assistance and resources are also available through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline - dial 988 to reach trained individuals 24 hours a day, every day of the year. If you are a current MHA client experiencing a crisis or need immediate assistance, please call 914-266-2922.
 

MHA’s Outreach and Engagement Services utilizes Concierges to engage and connect individuals in need of mental health services to community resources and social services, as well as provide additional information regarding mental health services within MHA and other organizations in Westchester County. Outreach and Engagement Concierges proactively contact people in order to connect them to or re-engage them successfully with services. Staff may also make referrals for participants of MHA programs who could benefit from Outreach and Engagement services. Services are available in English and Spanish for adults, children, and families.

Outreach and Engagement Concierges help to identify and break down barriers to services, which may include, but are not limited to:

• Information about mental health supports and services
• Referral assistance to needed or desired supports/services
• Short-term care management
• Education about MHA
• Assessments
• Help with insurance benefits and coverage
• Application processes and filing
• Transportation

Please note this is not an emergency crisis program.

To contact an Outreach and Engagement Concierge, please call (914) 345-0700 x7404.

MHA's Postvention services provide peer support to individuals experiencing grief over the loss of a loved one due to suicide. The services provided include emotional support, connection to various resources, and education to normalize the grief reactions associated with suicide loss. The program accepts referrals from the community and all other MHA programs.  

For more information, please contact Thomas Palmieri, LCSW, C-DBT at palmiert@mhawestchester.org

For more information, please contact Arlene Smith at 914-265-7572 or SmithA@mhawestchester.org.

SHAC consists of licensed mental health professionals who conduct comprehensive mental health and substance abuse assessments to individuals temporarily housed through the Department of Social Services. Individuals are then referred to services that they will need to improve their independence, obtain employment, go to school, develop a healthy social support network, improve their interpersonal relations and decrease the need for hospitalizations.

For more information, please contact Bibi Salim, LMSW at 914-966-9293 or salimb@mhawestchester.org.

Our new integrated care clinic located at 360 Mamaroneck Avenue in White Plains specializes in the treatment of adults and adolescents experiencing substance use and mental health challenges. Substance Use Treatment and Recovery Services are available for adolescents and adults, and include evaluation and diagnostic services, such as screening, admission assessment, brief intervention, and toxicology testing. Counseling and therapy services include individual, group and family therapy; medical services include psychiatric assessment/evaluation, Medication Assisted Therapies (MAT) across the spectrum of substances, medication management, and management of withdrawal symptoms.  Our support services include peer support, recovery coaching, vocational counseling, care management, family education and mutual assistance/12 step programs.

To learn more about our Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Services, please call (914) 345-0700 x 7332

We offer individual, group, family and medication services for individuals ages five and older – and for a full range of behavioral health conditions. Our licensed behavioral health professionals – including social workers, counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists – provide the utmost quality of care through person-centered, recovery-focused services. Treatment decisions, which are made collaboratively between an individual and their therapist, may be enhanced through additional work with trained peer specialists. 

We are also proud to offer Telehealth, a groundbreaking new behavioral health service that enables clients to meet with our psychiatrists via two-way, real-time interactive audio and video equipment. Our Telehealth stations are located in our White Plains, Yonkers and Mount Kisco clinics and offer improved access to care for clients who are in crisis situations and those who engage in our clinical walk-in services.

If you are a client: Please call our Central Intake Scheduler at 914-345-0700, ext. 7350 to schedule an appointment. 

Referral Information:

• Providers can also refer individuals by via our PDF Referral Form. To complete this form on your computer, please download the PDF, fill in your information and save a copy. Fax form to (914) 347-8859 attention Central Scheduler.
• Spanish PDF Referral Form: Fuente de la derivación: Haga clic aquí para la formulation derivación de cliente
• Intakes are processed within 24-48 hours of receipt. Due to high call volume we will relay the appointment information to you as soon as possible via phone.  If this form is incomplete scheduling can be delayed.

Many crises can be safely resolved in the community, preventing costly and disruptive emergency room visits and hospitalizations, which can result in a loss of employment, housing and connection to community.

MHA offers walk-in services for individuals who can benefit from timely support. Our staff can help with the immediate situation, develop a short-term plan for resolution, providing linkages to other services and working with the individual to address triggers to the current crisis and incorporate as many natural supports as possible. Following the first visit, we will follow up to encourage success.

Due to safety precautions related to COVID-19, individuals are encouraged to call 914-345-0700, ext. 7350 to schedule a first visit. However, if an individual does not have access to phone or other technology, walk-in services at our clinics are available Monday through Friday, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Individuals can walk in to be screened, and information can be obtained by staff to set up clients for future appointments.

Clinic Locations:

Mount Kisco: 344 Main Street, Suite 301 Mt. Kisco, NY 10549

White Plains: 360 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains, NY 10605

Yonkers: 20 South Broadway, Suite 402 Yonkers, NY 10701

Westchester Recovery Network-Intensive

The Westchester Recovery Network-Intensive (WRN-I) is a mobile support service provided by peer professionals to assist individuals who are currently in the hospital or have had a recent hospitalization for a behavioral health condition. We recognize that everyone has their own unique recovery journey and WRN-I views relapses and hospital re-admissions as bumps in the road. WRN-I empowers people to move forward on their path, collaborating with them to honor their inherent strength and resilience.

Westchester Recovery Network

The Westchester Recovery Network (WRN) offers peer outreach and support for adults who have experienced behavioral health conditions and wish to decrease dependence on the behavioral health system while developing greater self-reliance and a more fully integrated life in the community. Operated by peer professionals, WRN is made up of Recovery Specialists who have lived experience. They help individuals discover or rediscover their passions in life and establish connections with others, helping to further self-development and economic self-sufficiency.

Westchester Recovery Network-Enhanced

Westchester Recovery Network-Enhanced expands the array of peer supports to individuals during times of vulnerability, such as after recent hospitalization, release from incarceration, during times of homelessness, or other periods of increased distress. We collaborate with individuals to help them build the life they choose and achieve their recovery goals. We offer 24/7 phone support, weekend and evening community visits when necessary and structured and flexible individual and group peer supports. 

WRN-E is available to individuals approved by the Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH). 

For more information about our Recovery Networks, please contact Dillon Browne, LMSW, NYCPS, Director of Psychosocial and Peer Services, at 914-538-1893 or browned@mhawestchester.org.

Learn more about Peer Specialists and their vital role in the short video below:

Youth Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is an innovative program designed to address the significant needs of children/youth in Westchester county aged 10 to 21, who are at risk of entering or returning home from high-intensity services, such as inpatient settings or residential services. Youth ACT ensures the child/youth and their family have the level of support services and access to clinical professionals required to sustain any gains made in crisis response or other out-of-home high-intensity services. The Youth ACT team delivers intensive, highly coordinated, individualized services and skilled therapeutic interventions through an integrated, multi-disciplinary team approach to better achieve success and maintain the child/youth in the home, school, and community.

All referrals go through Children’s Single Point of Access (C-SPOA).

For more information, contact Marianne LaCalamito at (914) 966-9748 or LacalamM@mhawestchester.org.