Children & Adolescents
Prestera Center offers a family-centered, strength-based approach to services to children and adolescents experiencing behavioral, emotional, substance abuse or problems with addictions. Services include: case management, outpatient, intensive outpatient, school-based, intensive care coordination, in-home, addictions treatment, psychiatric services and psychological evaluations.
Outpatient Services
The Children’s Outpatient services provide office-based therapy to individuals and families for children ages 4-18 who are dealing with emotional, behavioral, or substance abuse issues. Therapists engage the children and their families to develop individualized treatment plans that benefit everyone. Some individuals may continue to qualify for these services beyond the age of eighteen if they are still involved in school. Psychiatry and psychological testing services are available.
School-Based Services
School-based services reduce barriers to learning and enhance healthy psychological development of school-age students by providing students services at public school locations. Services include evaluations, psychological testing, therapy (individual, group or family), supportive counseling, treatment planning, case management and crisis intervention. Staff are based at public schools and attend meetings with school staff. They provide informational presentations to classrooms and faculty at local schools.
In-Home Services
The goal of in-home services is to preserve and protect the child living with the rest of the family. In-home services teams provide case management and therapy services for children with serious emotional disorders and their families. The in-home services therapist’s primary responsibility is to provide individual therapy and family therapy. The in-home team provides on-going evaluations of individual strengths and needs, facilitates treatment planning meetings, links families with needed services, and serves as an advocate for the child and their family. These activities are conducted primarily in the consumer’s home but can be provided at a Prestera Center office.
First Episode Psychosis (FEP)
Prestera Center offers an innovative program for adolescents experiencing their first episode of psychosis consistent with best practices "Quiet Minds". This service provides early intervention for someone experiencing their first episode of psychosis. Psychosis is characterized by hallucinations (seeing, hearing or feeling things that are not real) and/or delusions (believing things that are not real). The earlier a person is engaged in treatment services, the better the long-term outcomes in terms of experiencing less severe symptoms and improved independence and individual functioning. FEP is offered at our 511 Morris Street location in Charleston, WV - call 304.525.7851 for more information and visit https://quietmindswv.com/.
Children's Mobile Crisis Team
Staff are available to respond to emergencies experienced by West VIrginia children and families where there are children under the age of 18 living in the home. Staff will triage phone calls about family crises and may be able to travel to the family to resolve the immediate crisis and develop a family-centered crisis prevention plan. Psychiatric emergencies include threats, plans and intent for committing suicide or homicide. Contact the Children's Mobile Crisis Team by calling 1.800.642.3434.