Mission Statement

Southwest Counseling Center, Inc. is dedicated to providing the highest quality behavioral health services delivered with compassion and respect, and in a manner that enhances recovery and resiliency.

Vision

Southwest Counseling Center, Inc. will be the preferred comprehensive behavioral health provider in Southern New Mexico.

History

Southwest Counseling Center is the longest continuously running community mental health center in New Mexico, having been established under the Community Mental Health Center Act of 1963. President Kennedy signed the Community Mental Health Center Act only shortly before his tragic assassination. The Center is a private, nonprofit community mental health center.

Background

Southwest Counseling Center serves a mixed urban-rural area of southern New Mexico. The Center serves the communities of northern Dona Ana and Sierra Counties. There are approximately 3,000 open client cases throughout the various locations of the Center.

Southwest Counseling Center, an agency deeply rooted in its community for more than thirty years, is committed to providing services that are accessible, culturally competent, and culturally sensitive. The agency attempts to incorporate specific values, needs, and problems of the local culture into a responsive and beneficial treatment approach.

Despite a notable rural character, the area is undergoing a rural to urban transition. Residents of the two catchment areas have widely varying incomes and education. This area is the third most rapidly growing and changing area in New Mexico with a 2000 Census reported at 174,682, a 29 percent increase over 1995. The area has 25.4 percent of persons living below the poverty level. Rapid population growth is associated with the development of the space and defense industries at nearby White Sands Missile Range, the attractiveness of the area for retirees, diversification and development of the economy, which has attracted new industries, and the expansion of the El Paso, Texas metropolitan area. This rapid growth has placed increasing demands on the Center for accessible, culturally competent, and community based services.

Locations

100 W. Griggs Avenue, Las Cruces. Outpatient Services, Monday and Friday from 8:00 a.m. - 6:30 p.m., and 24-hour crisis intervention program. Case management, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. with outreach capability and 24-hour continuous, comprehensive crisis intervention program. 575-647-2800

118 S. Main Street, Las Cruces. Serenity Center. Outpatient substance abuse programs, including DWI school, for adults, adolescents and children. Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. and 24-hour crisis intervention program.

125 S. Main Street. Psychosocial rehabilitation services. Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.; and Friday 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Twenty-four hour crisis intervention program available through the Center's Crisis Line, 575-526-3371 or 1-800-964-1542.

2939 & 2941 Los Amigos Court, Las Cruces, 24-hour residential services for SDMI adults.

Board of Directors/Committees

Our agency is extremely proud of its mechanisms designed to empower involvement of consumers and family members in our service planning, delivery, and evaluation processes.

Composition of its governing Board of Directors: The Center's Board, which runs between 7-12 members, includes several Board Members whom are former primary or secondary consumers.

The Center's Clinical Policies and Procedures: SWCC's Clinical Policies and Procedures, including its quality assurance and supervision procedures, are guided by the philosophy that consumers and family members must be involved in the assessment, plan of care development, plan of care review, and service delivery to the greatest extent possible. The consumer must sign his or her plan of care.

The Center's Public Advisory Committee: This committee, which includes consumers, family members and service providers, has at least 50% consumer and family membership. This committee, which meets monthly, provides direct community and consumer input to the Board of Directors.

The Quality Assurance Office: Our full-time quality assurance office represent a Center-wide support to insure that consumers and family members, where appropriate, are being involved in all aspects of assessment, plan of care development, review of plan of care implementation, and service delivery.

Personal testimony by consumers and family members indicate the significant extent to which participation in these team meetings have on positive outcome. In addition, the consumer grievance system offers another important avenue to augment consumer involvement.

Consumer Council: The Client Council of the Psychosocial Rehabilitation Program is a vocal and progressive force for advocacy of client and family involvement in all aspects of service delivery.

Funding

Funding sources vary with ValueOptions including Medicaid contracts being the largest source of funding. Other contracts are with the Department of Health: Division of Mental Health; Behavioral Health Services (Substance Abuse); and Children, Youth and Families Division also managed through ValueOptions. Other sources of funding include: Medicare, local contracts (City of Las Cruces. EAPs), client fees, third party insurance and private donations.

Philosophy

As referenced in A Shared Vision: The N.M. State Mental Health Plan first and foremost, Southwest Counseling Center seeks to "implement programs and services that assist individuals with severe, disabling mental illness (including alcohol and other drug abuse) to control the symptoms of the illness; to develop the skills and acquire the supports and resources they need to succeed where they choose to live, learn, and work; and to maintain responsibility, to the greatest extent possible, for setting their own goals, directing their own lives, and acting responsibly as members of the community."

The organizing principles, concepts and priorities underlying the Southwest Counseling Center Mission described below are drawn from P.L. 99-660.

1. Individuals with disabilities are first and foremost persons with basic human needs, aspirations, desires, and feelings; secondly, citizens of a community with all the rights, privileges, opportunities, and responsibilities afforded other citizens; and finally, individuals with a severe, disabling condition.

2. People with disabilities are recognized as having diverse needs, concerns, strengths, motivations and goals.

3. Families are frequently the most important resource and support to individuals with severe disabilities.

4. The rights, wishes, and needs of primary (clients) and secondary (family members) consumers are paramount in planning and operating the mental health system.

5. The service system is sensitive to subgroups of the population who are members of minority and ethnic groups, elderly individuals, youth and people with multiple disabilities.

6. For the majority of individuals, the natural setting in the community is the best place for providing services.

7. Local communities are the most knowledgeable regarding their particular environments, issues, gaps, strength, and opportunities.

8. Staff who work effectively with individuals with severe, disabling mental illness alcoholism or drug abuse are highly regarded and valued.

We also believe that services must be delivered in a responsive, individualized, client-focused, compassionate manner that is also cost-effective, efficient and well administered. A corporate philosophy emphasizing a goal directed, outcome oriented. Responsive and participatory management style is best suited to create the atmosphere necessary to accomplish these ends.

Goals

Based on the Mission and Philosophy the following agency goals are derived:

1. To implement an efficient, well administered, well organized, integrated system of care for seriously mentally ill, alcohol and other drug-abusing individuals focusing on the least restrictive setting.

2. To develop quantitative targets to be achieved in system implementation including the numbers of seriously mentally ill, alcohol and other drug abusers residing in the service area.

3. To describe the services to be provided to the seriously mentally ill, alcohol and other drug abusers, thus enabling such individual's access to an array of mental health services.

4. To focus on rehabilitative, employment, medical, dental, and other support services which need to be provided to the seriously mentally ill, the alcoholic and other drug abuser.

5. To provide activities to reduce the rate of hospitalization of seriously mentally ill, alcohol and other drug abusers.

6. To provide case management services to seriously mentally ill individuals who receive substantial amounts of public funds or service.

7. To establish and implement a program of outreach to and services for, seriously mentally ill individuals who are homeless.

8. To network with other providers in the state to delineate transitional issues important for moving toward a comprehensive, community based system.

9. To maintain an active system to systematically review the quality and appropriateness of care provided.

10. To provide and encourage staff and professional development activities to meet emerging needs, improve existing skills and to correct identified skill deficits.

11. To implement management practices which recognize the contributions and individual worth of the employees, volunteers and consultants employed or retained by the center.