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New Partnership between TBH and HRDA

Mary Gray McPhailBy Mary McPhail Gray
Board Chair

“I tell all our new clients that they do not need to trust me just because I am the agency director.  I have to earn their trust just as they have to earn mine,” says Walter Vigil, director of the Human Resource Development Agency in Taos.  “I promise to be consistent and always honest with them.  I expect them to follow their plan and do what they need to do to  prove that they are serious about recovery.”

Vigil has been the director of HRDA since 1989 and has been in Taos providing services related to community policing for 36 years. At first a county employee  initiating the first Community Corrections program in New Mexico, he began HRDA after 5 years when he realized a nonprofit agency was a more realistic model to implement services for the youth and young adult clients he was seeing. HRDA holds contracts with the New Mexico Office of Corrections—dealing with clients under their jurisdiction.  They have offices also in Raton and Espanola. [Read more…] about New Partnership between TBH and HRDA

“It Takes a Village”: We Have One Helping Raise our Youth!

Mary Gray McPhailBy Mary McPhail Gray
Board Chair

“I am having a bad Christmas because I am not with my family!” said a TBH youth client  in foster care.  “But this is the best break I have ever had because when I come to camp, they help me to not feel alone.”

This past holiday season TBH organized four therapeutic groups serving more than 60 students from elementary school through high school.  And the staff—with the freedom of programing through entire days and with special support from a large number of Taos, Santa Fe and Albuquerque businesses– planned unique enrichment activities.  Heard in the groups:

“It’s really cool that TBH could take us to all these fun trips.  I feel really lucky.”

“My dream has been to see a ballet and I feel so happy that I got to see the Nutcracker.”

“We are lucky to be part of this group because it helps us to feel better and  be better students.” [Read more…] about “It Takes a Village”: We Have One Helping Raise our Youth!

Internships—A Great Partnership at Taos Behavioral Health

Mary Gray McPhailBy Mary McPhail Gray
Board Chair

“I love having interns,” declared a program director at TBH.  “They bring such enthusiasm and energy and sometimes they have  studied some  very recent research that I have not yet seen.”

“It is wonderful to really start to work in my profession and I have so much admiration and respect for my supervisor,” declared a new intern at TBH.

Taos Behavioral Health has employed interns from Highlands University, Southwestern College, Adams State University, and Prescott College in Arizona.  They bring a variety of interests such as  wilderness therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing and are anxious to have the opprtunity of supporting clients’ growth.  They may have worked only with youth and are focused on the opportunity to work with adults and/or families.  The variety of therapeutic services offered by TBH is a great learning environment for them. The directors and supervising staff are experienced and skilled at a variety of interventions and can provide ongoing feedback. [Read more…] about Internships—A Great Partnership at Taos Behavioral Health

A Great New Option for Treating Trauma

Mary Gray McPhail

By Mary McPhail Gray
Board Chair

“And you were really snoring deeply!” declared the wife of a TBH client in delight.  Not the kind of message most wives might give to their spouse!  But in this case, her husband experienced the first deep restful sleep he had had in 20 years.

The reason?  He had just experienced his first Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy session at Taos Behavioral Health to deal with an old work-related injury.  And yes—clients often have immediate changes in their processing of traumatic memories and other negative life experiences when they are treated with EMDR.

EMDR is a relatively new tool in the clinical  practice—developed in 1989  by Dr. Francine Shapiro for treatment of traumatized clients.    Dr. Shapiro was walking through  sun dappled woods when she realized that her negative  emotions were lessening as her eyes darted from side to side.   She wondered if the same positive effect might occur in her patients.  She found it was true when she tried it in her practice. [Read more…] about A Great New Option for Treating Trauma

Thank You! End of the Year Appreciation

Mary Gray McPhail

By Mary McPhail Gray
Board Chair

As the school semester and 2019 come to a close we at Taos Behavioral Health wish to express our appreciation to the community and our partners for the robust growth we have experienced.  The town has experienced changes in behavioral health services over the past year, and we have stepped forward to initiate new programs in response to clear needs.

In this year of growth, we have organized our services into six separate programs each led by a director—in order to better serve our clientele.  Each program staff meets regularly to enhance program quality and share needs and successes.  As you come to our agency to receive services, here are the broad offerings we hope can meet your needs.

Our primary adult program is Outpatient Treatment (OTP)—headed by director Linda Sanders.  This staff provides support for normal issues of adult life, including post-traumatic stress disorder, grief and loss, depression, relationship issues, anger management, and  goal setting/decision making. The clinical staff includes Steve Moser, Michael Pena, Chuck Neelley, Tilghman Evans, Amanda Gallegos, Barbara Costello, and Carol Jackson.  Clients may be seen individually or as couples or veterans. [Read more…] about Thank You! End of the Year Appreciation

A Gift to the Community: Acudetox Drop-in Clinic at Taos Behavioral Health

Mary Gray McPhail

By Mary McPhail Gray
Board Chair

“We want it to provide a safe and calming  place for community members to relax and support their own healing” says Katia Torrelli Delgado, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Director of the Family Center at TBH.  This new service is open every Monday from 5–6 p.m. in the TBH offices at 105 Bertha in Taos.

Torrelli Delgado is a clinician with a rich array of treatments she can use with youth, families and adults.  Trained in Seven Challenges, a harm-reduction model for adolescents and young adults,  she is also an Auricular Detoxification Specialist trained in a standardized treatment protocol by the national association.  She is deeply impressed with the power of Acudetox—as it is commonly called—to help people on their journey to healing—no matter what their goals. [Read more…] about A Gift to the Community: Acudetox Drop-in Clinic at Taos Behavioral Health

Being Realistic about the Holidays

Mary Gray McPhail

By Mary McPhail Gray
Board Chair

“There must be something in the atmosphere!  We have had one crisis after another with our clients at school this week!” commented a Taos Behavioral Health professional  in late October.  “Oh yes,” said another—“The high school is also reverberating with turmoil from our students.  But remember—this is the start of the holiday season.  We are always in for a ride!”

October, with its sugar-load and complex preparation for Halloween parades and parties, starts the season.  In Taos—it is enthusiastically celebrated by adults and youth—with planning and comparisons about costumes and “the haul.”  The town of Taos and merchants have planned a celebration to pull people together on the historic district so that a safe holiday can be enjoyed.  Credit and appreciation must go to them.

Yet the excitement of the holidays also comes with stress—especially for youth needing support with behavioral health needs.  Youth receiving TBH services are deeply impacted by the security of familiar routines—regular schedules, healthy food at a stable schedule,  time with familiar friends and family.  The holidays tend to disrupt all those supports. This is especially the case when school is on vacation. [Read more…] about Being Realistic about the Holidays

The Healing Ponies

Mary Gray McPhail

By Mary McPhail Gray
Board Chair

The shiny blue pickup drives into the Enos Garcia Elementary School parking lot  pulling a large red horse trailer. Out steps Madalena Miera, a CCSS Taos Behavioral Health worker, and opens the gate to lead out two miniature horses, Mama and Mickey.  Across the lot dash a group of smiling elementary students with joy in their eyes. The pony therapy session is beginning!

Miera and Siena Sanderson,  with Los Cumbres Community Service, had initiated some work with  vulnerable youth a year ago — until funding ran out. Taos Behavioral Health then identified funding and a structure to start a program this fall at Enos Garcia and Taos Middle School.  The program is based on Miera’s work over the past four years with her two miniature ponies and her review of the research on equine therapy and youth.

The youth coming to the classes have been referred by clinicians serving the schools with approval from their parents.  The experience has been life changing — or at least significant behavior changing — for a number of the youth.  These changes — observed by clinicians and teachers and the pony therapy staff — echo research findings:  Higher self-esteem, increased  self-control, greater focus, calm, joy, and trust.

Foreground: Sophia Montoya leading Micky . . . Background: Damika Martinez leading Mama

[Read more…] about The Healing Ponies

Working Together to Heal our Community

Mary Gray McPhail

By Mary McPhail Gray
Board Chair

“When a community is dealing with loss, grief and violence, real healing power comes from agencies working together to provide wrap-around care services” states Simon Torrez, CEO of Taos Behavior Health.

This shared commitment has resulted in the  “Collaborative” composed of Taos Behavioral Health, Golden Willow Treatment Services, Rio Grande Treatment, and Terry Barsano, the clinical director at Valle del Sol.   Meeting regularly, the  Collaborative has forged agreements about how to support each other by clarifying their expertise and commitments and streamlining communication and referral processes.

Taos as a community has had a hard year of dealing with loss and grief and all people in Taos have been impacted in some ways—if only with shock and grief at reading another story in the Taos News. [Read more…] about Working Together to Heal our Community

My Heart is Hurting: Things that Touch the Children

Mary Gray McPhail

By Mary McPhail Gray
Board Chair

I wondered why some of my clients were acting more vigilant—and hyperalert?” commented a Taos Behavioral Health clinician in the Taos schools.  Soon he had an explanation—ICE was in town.

While most of the attention and talking about undocumented residents is about adults — we at TBH see the evidence of how children and youth are impacted.  At a minimum, a family with undocumented adults is often living in very small quarters with few resources to provide for their children.  Adults who work usually make minimum wages and are often subjected to a variety of abuses in their employment.

The fear of deportation or of family separation is real.  Some families work with  Sin Fronteras Nuevo Mexico  and Taos Immigrant Allies (TIA) to establish guardianship for their children in case the parents are arrested and taken away.  The guardian assumes responsibility for the children’s needs until the parent is able to resume their primary role.  This arrangement can be comforting to the children IF the selected guardian is well known to the children and the parents have thoroughly explained the circumstances to them.  However, TBH clinicians have clearly heard children say that if their parents were deported, they naturally would want to go with them. [Read more…] about My Heart is Hurting: Things that Touch the Children