Special Needs Resource Directory

  • Mental Health and Behavior

    Making the right diagnosis, finding a mental health professional and obtaining health insurance coverage are the main challenges families face. Many insurers do not provide equal benefits for mental health services as they do for other general medical services. There are often long waiting lists to receive quality services. Patients who have a "dual diagnosis" of developmental and/or medical conditions along with their mental health condition seem to have the most difficulty finding appropriate services.

    The Center for Infants and Children with Special Needs at Cincinnati Children's has compiled a list of Greater Cincinnati and national resources that provide mental health services.
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    Mental Health Services

    Insurance coverage, financial assistance programs, condition, age specific expertise and geographical considerations are important in selecting a mental health provider. Some clinics offer sliding-scale fees based on ability to pay. 

    • Cincinnati Children's Division of Psychology  
    • Cincinnati Children's Division of Psychiatry  
    • Surviving the Teens, developed by the Division of Psychiatry at Cincinnati Children's, provides information, resources and support to help guide teens and families.   
    • Cincinnati Children's College Hill Campus Residential Treatment Program provides a place where children who need psychiatric care over extended periods of time can receive treatment. The program is for children ages 9 to 17 whose stay is between one to 12 months.
    • Cincinnati Academy of Professional Psychology web site provides an online search for psychologists by area, psychologist or specialty area.
    • Applied Behavioral Services, located in Cincinnati and Dayton, works with children at risk ages 2 through 21. They serve families in need of behavioral support or counseling in the home or community as well as school districts that need support services, behavioral consultation, training or placement options. They work with children who have a diagnosis of ADHD, Asperger's, Autism, ODD, Bipolar or other related developmental disabilities.
    • Beech Acres Parenting Center
    • Cancer Family Care  
    • Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio provides mental health counseling to children and adults.
    • Centerpoint Health is a comprehensive behavioral healthcare provider and has merged services with Talbert House
    • Central Clinic in Cincinnati provides evaluation, behavioral therapy and counseling services for children and adults. Central Clinic is an eligible provider for various private insurance carriers and public insurance such as Medicaid and Medicare.
    • Child Focus supports individuals and families in Clermont County through their Behavioral Health Care and Early Childhood Divisions. Their Clermont County Crisis Response Team offers crisis intervention, education, referrals and follow-up services. 
    • The Children's Home of Cincinnati     
    • CITE (Community Integrated Training and Education) services, a division of RHC (Resident Home Corporation) located in Hamilton County, offers school-based and home-based behavioral support consultation and programs. 
    • Hamilton County Community Mental Health Board provides instructions on accessing mental health services in Cincinnati to meet specific needs, including emergency care.
    • LifePoint Solutions in Cincinnati combines Clermont Counseling Center and Family Service of Cincinnati to provide comprehensive counseling services.
    • Lindner Center of HOPE, located in Mason, Ohio, is a private, non-profit facility providing mental health care diagnostic and treatment services in the Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana region. They serve adolescents, adults, and senior adults who need mental health and substance abuse care and provide outpatient services, short-term, hospital-based inpatient services as well as longer-term, private, voluntary live-in-services. 
    • Mental Health Access Point (MHAP), a division of Central Clinic, provides assessment, support, and connections for individuals and families in Hamilton County who do not have insurance but need mental health services. MHAP does not refer patients who have Medicaid or private insurance.
    • Mental Health Association of Northern Kentucky: Resource Directory provides information about resources for clinical services, extended care facilities, hospitals, screenings, support groups and shelters.
    • Mental Health Services and Substance Abuse Locator, a nationwide tool for locating mental health services.
    • NorthKey Community Care, located in Northern Kentucky, identifies and treats children with mental health issues.
    • Ohio Department of Mental Health has comprehensive program information and resources.
    • Positive Leaps, located in West Chester, Ohio, provides day treatment, mental health assessment and counseling services to young children and their families, child behavior coaching for parents, and training services to professionals throughout the greater Cincinnati region.  
    • St. Aloysius Orphanage offers foster and adoptive services, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment. 
    • St. Joseph Orphanage provides ACT Case Management Services, therapeutic foster care, day treatment, crisis stabilization unit, intensive outpatient treatment, mentoring and after-school programming.
      • The Altercrest Campus has behavioral and intensive residential treatment and community transition programs.
    • Talbert House, Cincinnati,offers drug and alcohol treatment services.
    • Women's Crisis Center, Cincinnati,  provides crisis intervention services to victims of domestic violence.

    Case Management

    Mental Health Access Point (MHAP), a division of Central Clinic, provides assessment, support, and connections for individuals and families in Hamilton County who do not have insurance but need mental health services. MHAP does not refer patients who have Medicaid or private insurance. 

    Mental Health Parity

    The federal Mental Health Parity Law will require that health plans offered by employers with more than 50 workers will have to treat mental health benefits the same way they handle coverage for physical health care. For example, if a company health plan offers 30 days of inpatient coverage for cardiac care, then it must offer 30 days of inpatient coverage for a mental health diagnosis. Also, if a plan offers out-of-network coverage for physical health care, it must do the same for mental health care. The law also ensures that substance abuse treatment is covered. The law will eliminate the discriminatory copayments, deductibles and other restrictions that had been used to reduce coverage for mental illness. It will prohibit health plans from setting limits on number of visits or hospital days for mental health problems that are different from any such limitations on treatment for medical problems.

    Dual Diagnosis

    Children and adults with developmental disabilities may also have mental health needs requiring intensive behavioral supports. Contact your local Ohio County Board of Developmental Disabilities to see if you qualify for services.

    The Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities is also looking into establishing a limited number of New Futures Waivers to specifically target:

    • Children with developmental disabilities under age 14 who need significant behaviorally focused interventions, which could include individuals having a diagnosis that falls within the autism spectrum, and/or individuals with a dual diagnosis of developmental disabilities and mental health/severe emotional disturbance
    • Children who meet the level of care provided in an intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded (ICFMR Level of Care)

    Ohio Mental Illness Developmental Disabilities Coordinating Center of Excellence (MIDD CCE) helps communities build their knowledge and resources to serve individuals with a dual diagnosis of mental illness and developmental disabilities. The center, sponsored by the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities, will help coordinate regional resources for dual diagnosis assessment, trainings and grant funding.

    Screening Tools

    Screening tools are available online free of charge to assist parents and professionals in assessing mental health issues. However, concerns should always be discussed with your healthcare provider. A mental health diagnosis is made only after consultation with a qualified professional.

    Mental Health / Behavior 

    ADHD 

    Autism

    Substance Abuse

    • CRAFFT screens for adolescent substance abuse issues.

    Suicide

    Substance Abuse

    Suicide Programs

    Advocacy / Support

    • Mental Health Association of Southwest Ohio (MHA) advocates for improved care for the mentally ill, working with state, local and national groups to increase awareness of the needs of the mentally ill. They also maintain a listing of mental health support groups.  
    • MindPeace For Children's Mental Health, a project of the Junior League of Cincinnati in collaboration with Cincinnati Children's, is working with community members to significantly improve the mental wellness of children in the Greater Cincinnati Area. This web site contains information on education, resources, support groups and events.
    • National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) is a non-profit, grassroots, self-help and advocacy organization for individuals with severe mental illness. Local support group information is one of the many services offered. Local chapter information is provided. 
    • Ohio Advocates for Mental Health provides advocacy, education and assistance. 
    • Ohio Federation for Children's Mental Health is a nonprofit organization supporting youth with mental health issues and their families. They focus on education and advocacy and work directly with individual families, agencies, systems, legislators and policymakers. They provide information on accessing mental health services, conduct workshops and publish a quarterly newsletter.

    Additional Resources