Youth Outpatient Programs & Services

Touchstone Health Services was awarded a five-year, 1.5 million dollars grant from the Office of Population Affairs, Department of Human and Health Services to provide comprehensive, multi-faceted teen pregnancy prevention programs in seventeen zip codes across Avondale, Tolleson, Goodyear, Litchfield Park and parts of Glendale, Buckeye, and Phoenix. The grant looks to advance equity in adolescent health through the replication of evidence-based programs (EBPs) and services. Touchstone looks to service over 22,000 youth, over 7,900 adults (parents/caregivers) with EBPs, and over 3,100 community members with training. 

Prevention also provides partners with professional development training on diverse topics such as Youth Mental Health First Aid, Trauma-Informed Approaches, Resilience, Empathy, and more. 

For more information regarding current programing including our youth leadership council, CARE Coalition, etc. please visit https://carecoalitionaz.org/. 

Prevention hopes to continue providing education and resources to other communities in the valley with future funding opportunities. 

Within the grant Touchstone also oversees the CARE Coalition which is a group of collaborating community members, youth, local agencies, schools, and other invested individuals that aim to improve the health and wellbeing of adolescents in the West Valley. The mission of the CARE Coalition is to unite, inform, and empower the community to make a positive impact on youth in the West Valley through collaborative planning and action, and foster a community that is informed, caring, and driven to ensure youth well-being.  

www.carecoalitionaz.org 

The Respite Program is a facility-based program that provides a needed break for caregivers. Respite team members are CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) certified, trained in crisis prevention/interventions, and receive ongoing training in Positive Behavioral Support. The Respite team works with the Child and Family Team (CFT) to understand the individual needs of each child. During respite, the children participate in group games/activities, arts and crafts, outdoor activities, and occasional group outings that focus on learning skills that help improve the quality of social interactions between caregivers, other adults, and peers. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks are provided.  

Location: 15820 N. 35th Avenue STE 14, Phoenix, AZ 85053 

Whatever It Takes (WIT) is a “Meet Me Where I Am” direct service program that provides intensive in home and community-based supports to children and families who are struggling with emotional and behavioral issues that are causing significant distress.  WIT is a guardian driven program, that assists in keeping children in their natural environment by reducing/preventing OOH placements, creating independence and stability in the home and finding Natural Supports to replace paid services. Click HERE to learn more about Touchstone’s Whatever It Takes Program.

Touchstone employs Board Certified Psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, and medical providers who can provide psychiatric evaluations and medication monitoring.

What we do:  

• Psychiatric Evaluation 

• 60 minutes   
• Completed by either a Psychiatrist (MD) or Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) 
• Our psychiatric evaluations are similar to those that are performed in a hospital setting (Providers seeing a patient for the first time).  
• There is usually no urgent requirement to make all diagnoses during the 60 minute evaluation. If sufficient information is available at the time of the evaluation to make a diagnosis or several diagnoses, our providers will diagnose and discuss a treatment plan.  

What to Expect:

• Our psych team may request additional information from collateral sources such as the school and the PCP when exploring certain diagnoses.  
• They may recommend referrals for supportive services such as individual or family therapy. 
• Medication management may be explored. 

Please note: Touchstone’s Psychiatric Specialty Services Providers do not complete learning disability assessments or Neurological Evaluations, Psychological Evaluations (including Psychosexual or forensic/criminal court). Referrals for a Pediatric Neurologist, Developmental Pediatrician, brain mapping, medical or genetic testing need to come from the members Primary Care Provider.     

The Health Promotion Department offers evidence-based programs provided to enrolled youth to help them be proactive in preventing a host of concerns and educating and empowering youth and their families. Below are the currently ran curriculum, age ranges, and topics: 

Youth Education:

• Making Proud Choices: 

• Youth 11 – 18 years 
• HIV education and safer sex practices 

• Teen in Action: 

• Youth 11 – 18 years 
• Dangers on high-risk behaviors  

• Safe Dates: 

• Youth 11 – 18 years 
• Healthy relationships  

• Coping Cat: 

• Youth 7 – 13 years 
• Anxiety management 

• Body Project: 

• Youth 14 – 18 years 
• Body image and education on eating disorders 

• Mind Matters: 

• Youth 11 – 18 years 
• coping for stress and anxiety, trauma 

• Positive Action –  

• Youth K – 2nd, and 3rd – 5th  
• Various topics, physical/emotional health, self-esteem, getting along with others, etc. 

• Positive Action –  

• Youth in Middle and High School 
• Various topics, self-esteem, motivation, etc. 

Parenting/Guardian Education:

• Active Parenting of Teens: 

• Parents/guardians with youth 11 – 18 years 

• Difficult conversations, parenting skills 

• Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) –  

• Parents/guardians with youth 1 – 10 years 
• Parenting skills education 

*Groups are running both virtually and in-person depending on the need. 

Multisystemic Therapy (MST) is an intensive in-home family therapy (3-5 hours/week, for 3-5 months). This is an evidence-based program designed for youth, ages 11 through 17.5, that have behavioral and conduct problems. Therapists work in the home, school and community and are on call 24/7 to provide support to the family. MST works closely with caregivers to help empower them with skills needed to independently address the challenging behaviors of the youth. MST strives to promote behavior change in the youth’s natural environment using the strengths of the family, school, and community system. MST is effective at reducing criminal activity and other undesirable behavior. 

Goals of MST:

• Reduce arrest rates.  
• Decrease drug use. 
• Increase school attendance.  
• Decrease Out of Home placement. 
• Improves family relationships.  
• Decrease verbal and physical aggression. 

MST Benefits for Teens: 

• The family therapy approach views the whole family as the main people that need to change, so therapy isn’t just about what the teenager needs to change and do differently. 
• This model of therapy does not have the teenager in all the sessions, because some plans do not need the teenager to be a part of every detail, but this model will include them often enough to make sure they have input into the plans their parents are making. 
• Many teenagers have liked that the MST model helps the parents learn what age-appropriate expectations are for this age group. 

• This model has a lot of experience with probation and was built specifically for the teens in this population, so the therapists are very helpful to the teen and parents with how to work with your probation officer and hopefully get off probation as soon as possible. 

MST Benefits for Parents: 

• Sessions are primarily at home but can also be in the community to meet the parent’s scheduling needs. 
• Effective change can happen regardless of the amount of session time your child attends. But MST therapists will always attempt to involve your child. 
• This model helps to teach parents the process in hopes to empower them to address their child’s behaviors without legal involvement. 
• The therapists in this program are available 24/7 to offer support to the family. 
• The therapists can support you in multiple settings outside the home like school, court, and other behavioral health visits for your child. 
• All the interventions/plans are built with the parent because this model strongly believes they are experts on their children, and this is why MST wants them in all of the sessions. 

Skills MST can help you with: 

• Anger management 
• Communication 
• Drug refusal 
• Ways to overcome conflict at home, in school, with friends, or in the community. 
• Ways to build structure into your life to help with school and/or employment. 
• Ways to overcome conflict between family members at home. 
• Creative ways to monitor your youth to help address the problem behavior. 
• Ways to parent and help to motivate behavior change that are specific to your family. 

The Intensive Outpatient Substance Use (IOPSU) Group focuses on adolescent health as it pertains to substance use, utilizing motivational interviewing techniques along with DBT skills to elicit change. Teens are invited to evaluate their lives, consider changes they wish to make, and subsequently work towards implementation and maintenance of desired changes. In essence, the IOPSU program supports teens in taking power over their own lives. IOPSU also aims to assist families in gaining knowledge and skills to support their teen(s) in their recovery and strengthen family system functioning. This group requires enrollment with Touchstone. If interested, reach out to Member Services by calling 866.207.3882. 

Group participants attend for 12 weeks. 

IOPSU takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays 4-6pm 

This group is held at our Avondale office with virtual options available. 

Location: 

12409 W Indian School Rd, Building E 

Avondale, AZ 85392 

Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) is a highly structured therapeutic treatment program designed to help children and adolescents who struggle with emotional and behavioral management in developing social, communication, and coping skills that will help them improve their functioning at home, school, and in the community.  

Our Intensive Outpatient Program utilizes the Dialectical Behavioral Treatment (DBT) Steps-A curriculum, an evidenced based treatment with empirically supported strategies. The skills from each of the DBT skills modules include these areas of focus: Orientation & Goal Setting, Dialectical Thinking, Core Mindfulness Skills, Distress Tolerance Skills, Emotion Regulation Skills, Interpersonal Effectiveness. 

IOP best meets the needs for families struggling with the following needs (but is not limited to):    

• History of a suicide attempt, and/or self-injurious behavior (e.g., cutting, burning, scratching) in the past 16 weeks (about 3 and a half months), and/or currently exhibits suicidal thoughts   

• Frequent mood changes   
• Difficulty controlling anger   
• Efforts to avoid loss   
• Impulsive behaviors (e.g. aggression, reckless spending, unsafe sex, uncontrollable eating, running away, school truancy)   
• Frequent changes in self-image   
• Feelings of emptiness   
• Dissociation   
• Physical Aggression   
• Verbal Aggression    

IOP strives towards the following goals: 

• Prevent crisis situations from occurring in the home environment  
• Mainstreaming of the client in the least restrictive environment  
• Prevention of psychiatric hospitalization and/or risk of out-of-home placement  
• Increase emotional regulation skills to develop self-control 
• Increase positive coping skills and a healthy self-concept 
• Promote social competency and social skills 
• Preserve the family unit by increasing family functioning 
• Parental empowerment to manage problem behaviors in order to increase sustainability for the youth and parent/caregiver. 

Eligibility 

The program accepts children between the ages of 8 and 12.  

Participants must be AHCCCS eligible. 

Location 

15820 N. 35th Avenue STE 14, Phoenix, AZ 85053  

Referrals 

Phone: 866.207.3882  

Email: referrals@touchstonebh.org  

Hours of Operation  

During the School Year: 

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 3:30 PM – 6:00 PM 

Summer and Winter Break: 

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM 

For questions about the program, contact Chantelle Oguadimma, IOP Program Manager  

(623)-238-9621