Family Services
Counseling
Since the agency's founding in 1979, First Step has always focused on supporting healthy families. Families are frequently faced with complicated and painful issues that can be handled best with the guidance of a professional clinician. Family conflict, death, divorce, physical or mental illness, and behavioral problems are all factors which greatly impact people's lives and can create disharmony in one's family life.
When a person is suffering, most likely he/she is not alone. His family members may be suffering too. In order to heal the pain of all parties involved, when we counsel an individual we may also provide counseling services for the person's family. Each situation merits an evaluation, assessment and course of treatment. Certain cases warrant counseling sessions for the family as a group. Some families may require counseling for various members but in separate individual sessions rather than together.
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Substance Abuse Education, Prevention and Treatment
First Step offers a continuum of services for children, teens and
adults that focuses on education, prevention and treatment,
including assessments and evaluations to address the varying
severity of each client's situation.
Our clinicians educate and encourage clients to develop good decision-making skills and assist them in identifying meaningful ways to channel their energies instead of using drugs and/or alcohol. Through individual and group counseling sessions, clients learn about the serious effects of substance abuse and the negative impact it has on their minds, bodies and lifestyles.
As a state certified out-patient counseling center, First Step integrates an array of treatment modalities which specifically address the causal effects of each client's addictions.
Because substance abuse is clearly a problem which affects entire families and not just the user, we also provide counseling for family members. When a client is enmeshed in substance abuse, we try to involve family in the recovery process by helping them understand the effects of the drugs and/or alcohol, the root of the behaviors, and how they can create a positive environment for continued recovery. Educating and counseling family members enables them to cope with the stress and pain that may arise.
All First Step clinical services are Maryland State Certified and provided by licensed/certified staff. We participate in various insurance plans, including Medical Assistance and utilize a sliding scale fee schedule. No one will be denied service due to inability to pay.
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Parent Education
With so many two-parent working families and single parents raising children today, it is not uncommon to have moms and dads experiencing parent burn out. Factor in the typical challenges parents face every day (i.e. sibling rivalry, discipline issues, school issues) which can make a situation seem unmanageable. First Step offers a popular six-week, video-based program which features education and a discussion group. The program is designed to teach effective parenting skills and offer creative ways to meet the challenges faced by many families. Led by experienced First Step
staff, the course is taught at area schools as well as on site at various times of the year.
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