*All videos are Closed Captioned on Youtube*
"I received a call from a woman who was depressed and felt like no one appreciated her. She stated that her sons always responded when she requested assistance, but they never just called to check on her and say 'hello.'
She is the oldest of seven siblings and has always been the caretaker. She just needed someone to listen to her and tell her that she was important in the world. It helped for her to vent her feelings and be heard. She was reminded of how successful she had been in all these years with her family and friends.
She was very thankful for my suggestions and self-care tips that I shared with her. We practiced deep breathing and discussed visualizing her favorite place for future stressful times. We also discussed how thinking positively can change one’s outcome and that meditation is also good for our bodies as well as our heart.
She thanked me profusely and stated 'I feel so much better now and realize that my stress has been causing me heart problems lately. I now know how to reduce my negative emotions and manage my stress. Thank you so much for calling me, I can take on anything now.'"
- Nancy Carmichael,
CCP-COVID Crisis Counselor
What makes a good listener? Common responses to this question include someone who is attentive, engaged, non-judgmental, helpful, knowledgeable and empathetic.
All of us need support from time to time. Whether we need to have a good cry or a good laugh, knowing we have someone to turn to in a time of crisis is a comfort many of us take for granted. For individuals living with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), finding that help is not always easy. The same is true for those who serve as caregivers for loved ones with IDD. At The Harris Center, the IDD Intensive Needs Program is available to help provide the support and compassion that many need.
While the IDD Intensive Needs Program provides community-based supports throughout Harris County, it also has a component that focuses on providing crisis care. Implemented in 2016 as an initiative of the State of Texas and led by Clinical Team Leader Amanda Willis, LCSW-S, the three person staff is composed of master level clinicians who provide assessments, support and linkage to on-going community-based services for individuals with IDD who find themselves in a crisis.
The Harris Center Psychiatric Emergency Service (PES) located at the NeuroPsychiatric Center (NPC) is one of the major public mental health emergency programs in Harris County. Started in 1999, services are available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week to anyone in Harris County experiencing some type of mental health crisis.
The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD recently hosted an Open House and inauguration for its new PostHospitalization Crisis Residential Unit (PHCRU). Funded by the Texas 1115 Healthcare Transformation Waiver, this one-of-a-kind, cost-effective program will focus on furthering each individual’s work toward stabilization and reducing costly emergency room visits, incarceration and rapid hospital readmissions in the future.
Through The Harris Center’s partnership with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a Lifeline call in the area we cover was answered by our Crisis Line. The caller was inebriated and sitting on the railroad tracks with the intent to die.
Bruce was referred to the Youth Empowerment Services (YES) Waiver program in April 2018. He struggled with family stress and experienced intense school and interpersonal conflict. His file included reports of emotional outbursts and physical aggression.
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The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD strives to provide high quality, efficient, and cost effective services so that persons with mental disabilities may live with dignity as fully functioning, participating, and contributing members of our community, regardless of their ability to pay based on a sliding scale rate schedule. Privacy Statement Contact Us