Description
The Mental Health Association in Passaic County is a non-profit private organization that serves individuals and families with mental illnesses living in Passaic County, NJ. We have been a vital force in the community by providing critical and much needed mental health services and mental health education to the community for 30 years. We advocate to ensure that every person with mental illness receives prompt and appropriate treatment.
Each year we help over 500 families by providing high quality, free mental health services through the folllowing programs:
Family Supports
Intensive Family Support Services (IFSS) recognizes that caring for a family member with a serious mental illness can be stressful and lonely. Families can choose from individual consultation, face to face and telephone support, psycho educational workshops, support groups and respite services. These services are offered in a location of their choosing.
The Family Circle Support Group is a self-help group for family members who are caring for an adult with a mental illness.
Grupo Familiar is a Spanish speaking family support and education group.
Respite Group meets on Saturday and during the week and engages consumer family members in a variety of recreational activities.
Family Advocate Program is an Acute Family Care Service that has Family Advocates who are trained to listen, provide support and information about resources and act as mentors to families whose loved one is in the psychiatric Emergency Room.
Information and Referral
Individuals seeking mental health and other social services inPassaicCountymay call the MHAPC for referrals to community resources. The MHAPC has developed and widely distributes the "Guide to Mental health Services inPassaicCounty."
Outpatient
Arab American Counseling Program is the only bilingual/bicultural Clinical service available to the Arab/Muslim American community. Services provided include individual, couple, family, children, and group therapy. The Clinician also conducts trainings and consultation for Arab American and non Arab American groups.
Peer Support Services
Community Advocate Program is made up of individuals with life experience with mental illness, who serve as mentors for other adults with mental illness living in the community. Individual and group assistance is provided to develop social skills, spiritual and cultural interests, civic engagement, Wellness and Recovery domains and self help opportunities. Support Services are offered in a variety of community settings selected by the consumer.
Peer Outreach Support Team (POST) is a program staffed by Peers who use their training and life experience to reach out to adults living in the community, housing programs, social service agencies, mental health programs and boarding homes. The goal of this program is to reach individuals living with a mental illness and support their efforts to integrate into their communities in a meaningful self-determined manner.
Consumer Parent Support Network (CPSN)is a program where parents with a mental illness can receive case management services, one to one peer support from another consumer parent, parenting education workshops, advocacy, and ongoing parent support groups. The overall goal is to support the healthy functioning of the family.
Double Trouble and Recovery (DTR) is a twelve-step fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength, and hope with each other so that they may solve their common problems and help other recover form addiction and mental illness. MHAPC facilitates a community based DTR group and a weekly DTR atSt. Joseph’s Psychiatric Inpatient Unit.
Depression Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) MHAPC started the Passaic County DBSA Chapter, which is an adult self-help group for individuals who have been diagnosed with a mood disorder.
Passaic County Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Task Force is For the past five years, the Mental Health Association in Passaic County has spearheaded a task force of police officers and mental health professionals with the goal of bringing CIT to every municipal police department in Passaic County. CIT is a nationally recognized, best practice model of police based crisis intervention built upon partnerships between the mental health system, law enforcement community and consumer and family advocates.
