Programs & Services
Programs & Services
We restore and strengthen the emotional well-being of children and families.
The Guidance Center provides bilingual mental health and chemical dependency services, behavior management, parent education, medication management and psychological and psychiatric evaluations, as well as advocacy and care coordination services.
We also provide a rapid and thorough response to emergencies through our triage and emergency and high risk teams composed of our most experienced staff members. Our goal is to heal children and families by facilitating positive behavioral change and improved functioning at home, in school and with peers.
Mental Health Services
Each of the Guidance Center’s three sites (Roslyn Heights, Manhasset and Westbury) offers mental health services for children from birth through 24 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. Click to view downloadable guides.
Substance Use Treatment Services
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. Substance abuse services include counseling youths who are alcohol and drug abusers, children who live in families with a parent who is suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction and youths who have co-occurring chemical dependency and mental health problems. Prevention services are offered to local school districts.
Diagnostic Services / Learning to Learn
The Guidance Center offers families comprehensive diagnostic assessments by highly qualified teams of caring psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, mental health counselors and drug and alcohol counselors with special expertise in diagnosing and treating children. Our Learning to Learn Center offers specialized screening, diagnosis and tutoring for children suspected of having learning issues, attention deficit problems and developmental disorders.
Triage and Emergency Services
The Fay J. Lindner Foundation Triage and Emergency Services offer 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.
Suicide Prevention Video: What Parents Need To Know
The Douglas S. Feldman Suicide Prevention Project
The Douglas S. Feldman Suicide Prevention Project is an expansive initiative that aims to tackle the epidemic of suicide among young people. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the second-leading cause of death for ages 10-24. With the Douglas S. Feldman Suicide Prevention Project, the Guidance Center will address high-risk cases with a thorough evaluation for suicide risk; multiple sessions of individual, group and family therapy each week; and an individualized treatment plan that focuses on safety strategies and healthy coping skills. We offer services that will decrease the prevalence of suicidal thinking and actions in our children and teens through education forums, both face-to-face and with webinars.
Bereavement and Trauma Services
The Schnurmacher Bereavement & Trauma Program offers assistance to children, youths 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 Renée and Robert Rimsky Abuse Prevention and Treatment Program.
Special Programs
- LATINA GIRLS PROJECT – Offers bilingual and bicultural individual and family mental health counseling, along with group meetings and outings for adolescent girls suffering from depression.
- LGBTQ+ ISSUES – Provides a combination of individual, family and group therapy for youths struggling with emotional/social/family issues related to their sexual orientation or gender identity.
- ORGANIC GARDEN PROGRAM – Consists of two organic gardens, one at our Roslyn Heights headquarters and one at The Marks Family Right From the Start 0-3+ Center in Manhasset. Provides opportunity for technology-engrossed children and teens to unplug and appreciate nature.
- WILDERNESS RESPITE PROGRAM – Offers groups for youth at risk that emphasize outdoor activities as a gateway to mastery of social skills and youth empowerment.
Early Childhood Services
The Marks Family Right from the Start 0-3 + Center (RFTS) in Manhasset offers parent education, as well as therapeutic and support services for young children. Rapid response and diagnosis for mothers suffering from 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 3-5.
Following is a list of some of the programs offered under our Early Childhood Services umbrella:
- CHILDREN’S CENTER AT NASSAU FAMILY COURT – Offers a safe and enriching environment for children ages 6 weeks to 12 years while their parents are involved in court business.
- DIANE GOLDBERG MATERNAL HEALTH & WELLNESS PROGRAM – Provides rapid response and diagnosis for mothers suffering from maternal post-partum depression and other perinatal mood disorders.
- FRIENDS OF NANCY MARKS NATURE NURSERY – A thoughtfully designed garden for young children to experience nature through their senses and through play.
- GOOD BEGINNINGS FOR BABIES – Provides support, counseling, advocacy and education for pregnant and parenting teens at the Leeds Place – Serving Young People, our Westbury office.
Intensive Child and Family Services
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 an intensive response, often in the home and/or school environment.
- CLINICAL 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.
- FAMILY ADVOCATES – Provides parent-to-parent support both individually and/or in groups to families who have children experiencing social, emotional and/or behavioral challenges in their home, school or community.
- INTENSIVE SUPPORT PROGRAM (ISP) – Offers intensive mental health services on-site at three Nassau B.O.C.E.S. schools for children, ages 5-21, and their families from all 56 Nassau County school districts.
- OTHER LICENSED PRACTIONER (OSP) SERVICES – Provides individual, family and group therapy in the home or in the community.
Grandparents
C-GRASP – Caregiver Grandparent Respite and Support Project
C-GRASP is a partnership with the Town of North Hempstead’s Project Independence. The goal of the program is to raise consciousness and awareness of senior grandparents who have had to take on the role and responsibility of raising their grandchildren – a role that was most likely unexpected and often causes considerable challenges. Many of the children have been impacted by substance abusing parents, child neglect and abuse. Other factors may include abandonment, teenage pregnancy, death, joblessness, divorce, incarceration and illness.
The program offers grandparents who face similar issues the opportunity to meet each other and share their experiences, knowledge, strengths and hopes. The support group also serves as a way to combat isolation, pool resources and support one another. Many grandparent caregivers have not been able to sustain informal support networks because of their new role as caregivers.
For More Information, Please Call Nellie Taylor-Walthrust At (516) 997-2926, Ext. 229.
GASAK – Grandparent Advocates Supporting Autistic Kids
GASAK’s mission is to support, inform and advocate for families with autistic children. The group also seeks to raise awareness about autism and provide an informational clearinghouse to empower these families.
Members of GASAK attend monthly meetings that include lectures on autism, other topics related to children with disabilities, health related issues and important research. These grandparents also use the meetings to network and share information on services and issues critical to families impacted by autism. They provide mutual support for the challenging issues that they and their families face.
Meetings are hosted by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center at its Manhasset Marks Family Right From the Start 0-3+ Center in Manhasset on the last Thursday of each month at 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
For More Information, Please Call Dr. Sue Cohen At (516) 484-3174, Ext. 402.
Training and Consultation
The Guidance Center provides community workshops, forums and trainings for parents on a broad range of topics dealing with children and families.