Mental health services are in demand to support Denver’s children and families. Earlier this year, Children’s Hospital declared a “youth mental health state of emergency” citing statistics showing that between January and April, behavioral health visits to Children’s Hospital Colorado pediatric emergency departments were up 72% over the same period in 2019.
And while the demand for help continues to soar, many Denver area therapists and clinicians have long waiting lists to help treat children and families. Tennyson Center for Children, which has served Colorado’s most neglected, abused, and traumatized children since 1904, currently has no waitlist for its therapeutic programs that provide in-home and virtual preventative services and therapy to strengthen families with children of all ages.
“The challenges and stresses families face today are incredibly overwhelming and we want families to know help is available now,” said Meridith Shuman, Chief of Tennyson’s Community Programs. “It’s hard to focus on meeting emotional needs while trying to provide basic daily essentials for a family. We have resources in place to help families take on these challenges because we believe mental health, and family wellness, should be available to everyone. And, families won’t have to wait weeks or months for these services.”
Tennyson Community Programs provide support to children, teens, adults, parents, families, foster families, and parents-to-be. The focus of community programs is to build stronger and healthier families and to help keep families together. Along with Tennyson’s existing Community Based Services and Families Together program, Tennyson has expanded to include Outpatient Services and Child First.
Tennyson’s Outpatient Services are available to children, teens, and adults looking for help. Services are provided at an office or through telehealth and include assessment, individual and family therapy, diagnostic services, and care coordination. Families can participate anywhere from one hour of therapy per week to one hour per month with licensed clinicians who specialize in trauma, attachment, parenting, family dynamics, and intensive case management.
In partnership with Invest in Kids, Tennyson also offers a community program called Child First, a national, evidence-based, two-generation model serving the most vulnerable young children and families, providing intensive home visitation services. The program aims to prevent child abuse and neglect targeting children before birth through age five and their caregivers who are facing challenges like poverty, mental health issues, and homelessness.
“We’re thrilled to add this program to our growing list of community-based services to help strengthen kids and families in Colorado,” said Shuman.
Child First work is done in the home for one-two hours per week using Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP), a therapy focused on the attachment between parent and child, and executive skill-building. Each family works with a master’s level developmental clinician and a bachelor’s level family support partner.
If your child and/or family is looking for therapeutic support now to strengthen the future for your family, please visit www.TennysonCenter.org or call 303-731-4845 to learn more about Tennyson’s community programs.
About the Tennyson Center for Children
Tennyson Center for Children has served Colorado’s most neglected, abused, and traumatized children since 1904. Tennyson offers an accredited, therapeutic K-12 school with a 4-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio on its campus. Tennyson’s clinicians enter diverse counties across the state to provide preventative services and therapy to strengthen families with children of all ages. In 2019, Tennyson launched Rewiring, a statewide, collaborative effort to provide earlier intervention and resources to families in order to strengthen and prevent them from entering child welfare. Learn more at www.tennysoncenter.org.