Sponsors

Community Health and Counseling Services

Community Health and Counseling Services is a private non-profit organization that provides community-based home health and mental health services to adults and children in central, eastern, and northern Maine. More than 7,000 people benefit each year from the efforts of over 750 professional, support, and management staff of the agency.

CHCS provides services to adults with severe and prolonged mental illness who need assistance in achieving and maintaining independence while living within their community; children and their families who are in need of intensive help in dealing with emotional and behavioral problems; and persons who are homebound and recuperating from a serious or terminal illness or who may be in need of home health services while dealing with a disability. CHCS believes that, whenever possible, care is best given in a familiar setting where family and friends can become a part of the support and recovery process. The services that are offered are designed to enhance the quality of life for those who are facing health challenges. CHCS’s mission is to provide community health services, which are needed and valued by the communities and individuals we serve.

CHCS is both a Medicaid/MaineCare certified home health agency and a comprehensive community mental health center, one of the few combined institutions anywhere in the country.

The Institute for the Study of Therapeutic Change

The Institute for the Study of Therapeutic Change (ISTC) was founded by Scott Miller, Barry Duncan, and Mark Hubble after a serendipitous meeting and discussion (over great Irish beer) of their mutual discontent regarding the direction of the mental health field and their common interest in doing something positive about it. The ISTC (www.talkingcure.com) began as a medium to disseminate information from research about what works in therapy to counselors and therapists all over the world in an attempt to counter the many misconceptions that are promulgated by charlatans, drug companies, and the profession itself. As it turns out, the things that make therapy work are largely about the client and the quality of the relationship formed with the therapist, far more important that the pet model or method or potion of the therapist. Clients, in fact, are the heroes of change according to nearly five decades of psychotherapy research. In keeping with our dedication to elevating the client to his or her rightful role of star of the therapeutic drama, the ISTC evolved to using client based outcome feedback to enhance treatment success. After 7 years of development, research, and publication in peer reviewed journals, Scott Miller and Barry Duncan launched a reliable, valid, and feasible outcome management system that has been shown to significantly improve effectiveness in real clinical settings. Moreover, this system truly gives clients the voice they deserve, assigning them key roles in determining how services are both delivered and funded.