Behavioral Health

Specialists, Inc.

900 W Norfolk Ave
Norfolk, NE  68701
(402) 370-3140
Fax (402) 370-3373

Wayne Clinic Offers a Variety of Mental Health Services

In December 2003, Behavioral Health Specialists, Inc. (BHS) decided to pursue the development of satellite clinics with Wayne being a target community. Jan Chinn of Wayne became actively involved in securing a location and developing services for this community. The BHS Wayne Clinic is located at 220 West 7th Street in the BankFirst building. “My interest in developing a Wayne Satellite Clinic came from a desire to reduce commuting time each week while developing my professional work in the community where I live. I strongly believe in the mission of BHS and respect the agency’s ability to make mental health services affordable to all individuals. I was very fortunate to receive the immediate approval of our Board of Directors and the full supports of BHS, as well as secure such an ideal location to provide the services.”

Jan Chinn, MSE, LMHP, CPC has been working for BHS since 1992 as the Director of Youth and Family Services. She completed her Master’s Degree at Wayne State College in 1996 and became a Licensed Mental Health Practitioner in 2001. She continues to supervise the Youth and Family Services division, which provides programs such as therapeutic foster care, family support, and domestic violence services. Ms. Chinn has been a resident of Wayne since 1987, with the exception of one year when she lived and worked in Omaha.

In July 2006, Robin Claussen, MS, LMHP joined BHS, with one day per week dedicated to the Wayne Office.  Ms. Claussen is a full-time licensed mental health therapist who specializes in counseling individuals with grief and has extensive experience helping those coping with adoption issues.  She also has experience providing professional counseling to clients experiencing depression and anxiety, and enjoys working with clients of all ages.

Ms. Chinn and Ms. Claussen have extensive experience in providing outpatient therapy services, including services for child and adolescent concerns, abuse and trauma counseling, stress management, coping with divorce, grief and loss, and depression and anxiety. In addition, they have experience teaching parenting skills, working with children and families, and completing home studies on potential adoptive and foster homes. Through the Wayne Clinic, they will offer outpatient therapy services, including individual, couples, and family therapy. They also offer Employee Assistance Services and provide parenting classes in conjunction with the W.O.W. (Words of Wisdom) Parent Training Partnership in Wayne. In addition, BHS would like to expand its foster parenting network in the Wayne community through the recruitment of respite and full-time foster parents.

“Another benefit of working for a larger agency is the multiple services and professionals available to me when referrals for additional services is needed.” In addition to the Wayne Clinic, BHS offers services in Norfolk and Columbus. Services include outpatient therapy; foster care services; intensive outpatient, community support, detox and residential services for substance abuse; and domestic violence programming. For an appointment or for more information, you may call the Wayne office at 833-5246 or the Norfolk Office at 370-3140. For more information about foster parenting, please call Anne Willis at 370-3140 ext. 172.
 

Funding Awarded for new Crisis Response Team

On Wednesday, March 23, 2005, BHS was notified that they were awarded the funding from Region IV to develop and implement a Community Crisis Response Team in the Norfolk area.  

Funding Awarded for Intervention Services for Substance Abusing Teens

In October, 2004, BHS was awarded funding to begin delivery of a new and innovative education/outreach service geared to provide intervention services for substance abusing teenagers involved in the criminal justice system.  The program, named Project Connect, has three major service components.

The first component is On-Site Education/Intervention services.  These services will be provided to youth incarcerated at the Northeast Nebraska Juvenile Detention Center in Madison, NE.  Similar education/intervention services will be available to youth who are not incarcerated but are serving a probation sentence through District 2 Probation.  These services will include group based training activities that address life skills to strengthen the youth's efforts at resisting further substance involvement.

The second component is Parent Outreach services.  These services are available to families of each qualifying youth at the NNJDC.  BHS staff will connect with the youth's family to provide any needed education, support or referral services to help the family's efforts in effectively addressing their child's needs.  Parents of these youth can access our Parent Outreach staff and resources for up to three months.

The final component is Community Support (CSP).  CSP is a higher service level than the previous two and eligibility and admission to CSP is limited to youth referred directly by District 2 Probation and will typically target substance abusing youth deemed to be at higher risk for continued substance involvement and related problems.  This service level focuses efforts at preventing relapse, ensuring attendance and follow through with recommended substance abuse and mental health treatment.  Assistance provided can include transportation to appointments, skills training, linkage to other community services, and 24-hour emergency response service.

All of these service components are provided at no cost to the participants and enrollment is on a voluntary basis.  Funding is provided by Region IV Mental Health and Substance Abuse Administration.  BHS wishes to thank and acknowledge the input and collaboration in developing the design of this program to Joe Smith, Madison County Attorney, Mike Applegate, NNJDC Director, and the District 2 Probation office.

New Family Educator Pilot Project to Transform Family Support Services

The Youth and Family Services department of Behavioral Health Specialists, Inc., and Good Life Counseling, LLC., began developing a family support pilot project for the Department of Health and Human Services in 2003.  The pilot project has been named "Family Educator Program" and is intended to transform family support services from a "friendship" relationship back toward a goal-oriented, professional relationship with clients.

New Clinic in Wayne is Open

In December, 2003, BHS, Inc., decided to pursue the development of satellite clinics with Wayne being a target community.  Jan Chinn and Alicia Dorcey, both of Wayne, became actively involved in securing a location and developing services for this community.  The BHS Wayne Clinic is located at 220 West 7th Street, Suite 1, in the BankFirst building.

Ms. Chinn has been working for BHS since 1992 as the Director of Youth and Family Services.  She has been a resident of Wayne since 1987, with the exception of one year when she lived and worked in Omaha.  Ms. Dorcey, a Wayne native, has been employed at BHS since 1996.  Both Ms. Chinn and Ms. Dorcey have extensive experience in providing outpatient therapy services, teaching parenting skills, working with children and families, and completing home studies on potential adoptive foster homes.  Through the Wayne Clinic, they will offer outpatient therapy services, including individual, couples, and family therapy, as well as chemical dependency evaluations and treatment.  They will also be offering Employee Assistance Services and hope to add services such as parenting classes in the future.

Last Updated: 03/27/08