Programs & Services

Each of the Guidance Center's four sites offer mental health services for children from birth through 24 who are troubled, in trouble or causing trouble, and their families. The first step is a comprehensive evaluation, followed by an individually tailored treatment plan that may include any combination of individual, family and group therapy; and, when indicated, medication management with a psychiatrist. All treatment plans require family consent.

Drug and alcohol treatment and prevention services are provided for children, teenagers and their families at the Guidance Center's Leeds Place - Serving Young People in Westbury. The process begins with an evaluation, development of a treatment plan, and counseling. Substance abuse services includes counseling youth who are alcohol and drug abusers, children who live in families with a parent who is suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction, and youth who have co-occuring chemical dependency and mental health problems. Prevention services are offered to local school districts.

The Triage and Emergency Unit offers a rapid response to psychiatric emergencies - a sudden set of circumstances in which there is an impending risk of danger to the child or adolescent such as risk of suicide, risk of physical harm to others, a state of seriously impaired judgment in which the child is endangered, and situations of risk to a defenseless victim involving abuse, neglect, or exposure to domestic violence. Our goal is to strengthen, stabilize and support.

The Marks Family Right from the Start 0-3 + Center in Manhasset offers parent education, therapeutic and support services for young children. Rapid response and diagnosis for mothers suffering maternal post-partum depression and other perinatal mood disorders is provided through the Diane Goldberg Maternal Depression Program. The Center also offers Pre-School evaluations for children ages 3-6.

• Good Beginnings for Babies - Offers support counseling, advocacy and education for pregnant and parenting teens at the Leeds Place - Serving Young People, our Westbury office.
• Children's Center at Family Court - Offers a safe and enriching environment, on site in Family Court in Westbury, while parents are involved in court business.
• Parent & Preschooler Newsletter - Internationally subscribed and awarding winning publication; an invaluable resource for parents and professionals who care for young children.

The Guidance Center offers families comprehensive diagnostic assessments by highly-qualified teams of caring psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and drug & alcohol counselors with special expertise in diagnosing and treating children. Our Learning to Learn Center offers specialized screening and diagnosis for children suspected of having learning, attention deficit problems, and developmental disorders. Read more..

The Guidance Center provides community workshops, forums, and trainings for parents and professionals on a broad range of topics dealing with children and families as well as issues confronting of importance in the workplace, i.e. communication between peers, stress at work, navigating the generation gap.

This cluster of services is aimed at children and teens with serious emotional disturbances and their families; offering care coordination, crisis intervention in the home, case management, and skills in living training. Teams of social workers, psychiatrists and parent advocates work collaboratively to preserve families and prevent institutionalization through and intensive response, often in the home environment.
This cluster of services includes:

• Children's Care Coordination Team (CCCT) - Provides home-based clinical services for troubled children and teens.
• Coordinated Children's Services Initiative (CCSI) - Coordinates services among multiple systems to prevent children from falling through the cracks.
• Intensive Support Program (ISP) - School-based intensive mental health collaborative with Nassau B.O.C.E.S., located on-site in three schools on the South Shore serving children, ages 5 to 22, and their families from all 56 Nassau County school districts.
• Turnabout Family-Based Foster Care Program - Finds and trains families to provide treatment foster homes for seriously emotionally disturbed children.
• Wilderness Respite Program - Offers groups for youth at risk that emphasize outdoor activities as a gateway to mastery of social skills and youth empowerment.

The Schnurmacher Bereavement & Trauma Program offers assistance to children, youth and their families during times of grief and trauma, including family members of suicide victims and parents of murdered children at our Lucille and Martin E. Kantor Bereavement and Trauma Center in Roslyn Heights and at our other sites. Support groups and therapy are offered for children who are abuse victims through the Reneé and Robert Rimsky Abuse Prevention and Treatment Program. We provide services for parents coping with the effects of divorce on themselves and their children as well as free support groups for teens and pre-teens that have a parent who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.