Mental
Health Center
Adele
I. Agin, C.S.W., Executive Director
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718-350-3140
(Voice/TTY)
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718-899-9846
(FAX) |
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The
Lexington Center for Mental Health Services provides mental health
and social services to deaf and hard-of-hearing people in a linguistically-and
culturally-accessible manner recognizing the importance of utilizing
every means of communication.
Comprehensive
Outpatient Services Clinic (COPS)
Lexington's
New York City- and State-certified clinic provides mental health
counseling services to the deaf and hard of hearing and/or their
families in a culturally and linguistically sensitive manner.
We work with a range of diagnoses from adjustment disorder to
serious and persistent mental illness. Psychiatric evaluation
for therapeutic purposes and/or medication is available. Psychological
testing is also available.
Staff work diligently to facilitate positive relationships and
effective communication between clients and service providers
such as government organizations and mainstream health care providers.
Staff also serve as consultants to other human service agencies
in the New York City area assisting them as they attempt to become
deaf accessible.
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Parents
To Parents Program
The PTP program
provides deaf parents of hearing or deaf children (ages three
and older) the opportunity to promote the child's optimal growth
through a supportive peer centered model. Through role playing
and issue specific discussions appropriate parenting skills are
presented and encouraged. Shared parental experiences illustrate
effective problem solving and decision making skills that lead
to successful interactions and goals within the family. Parents
gain the knowledge and confidence needed to access services and
resources independently.
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Children's Intensive Case Management
Program
The Children's
Intensive Case Management Program (CICM) provides support services
to seriously emotionally disturbed children or adolescents and
their families where at least one family member is either deaf
or hard of hearing. Although the focus of the program is on the
child, staff work to stabilize family relationships by facilitating
communication among all family members and by making service referrals
to meet additional needs. Our goal is to support the children
in their homes and communities and to minimize the need for psychiatric
hospitalizations, residential placements and psychiatric emergency
room visits. Home and school visits are made throughout New York
City. Staff are on call 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week.
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Parent-Infant
Therapeutic Nursery
The Parent-Infant
Therapeutic Nursery (PITN) serves families with children from
birth to age three. Program participants are deaf or hearing parents
with a deaf child, or deaf parents with a hearing child. Through
supportive and insight therapy for the parent and play therapy
for the child, we seek to facilitate and support the infant's
development, build the caregiver's parenting skills and sense
of empowerment, and strengthen and enrich the parent-child bond.
The therapeutic milieu is sensitive to Deaf Culture and the centrality
of sign language, and encourages the working-through of conflicts
and questions regarding language and communication in a family
with deaf and hearing members.
A therapist
works one-to-one with each family unit in a nursery setting where
one or two other family-therapist units may also be present. This
allows, in addition to the intensive work within the family-therapist
unit, for intervals of interaction between the children for work
on socialization, and interaction between the parents for the
sharing of parenting experiences. Larger parent groups and larger
play groups are further enrichments to our program.
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School
Mental Health Team
The mission
of the Lexington School Mental Health Team is to provide supportive
counseling, consultation and concrete services to the students,
families and staff of the linguistically and culturally diverse
Lexington Community. Our aim is to contribute to a school setting
where deaf students can become effective and motivated learners
who are able to interact competently and in a socially meaningful
way.
Individual counseling is IEP driven providing service to students
with the intent of developing reflective thinking in their educational,
familial and social interactions. A conflict resolution program
is presented throughout the elementary school program. Playgroups
are provided at the toddler level while discussion groups are
provided at high school level.
All social
workers on the school Mental Health team can serve as advocates
in empowering students and families in their pursuit of entitlements.
A consultant
works with the preschool, elementary, middle and high school departments
to work collaboratively with teachers by jointly identifying concerns
and implementing possible strategies that address these concerns.
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