The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has awarded Counseling Associates, an affiliate of Arisa Health, a $4,000,000 expansion grant to develop a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) program over the next two years.
The funds will be used for outreach and new service availability for underserved areas including Faulkner, Conway, Pope, Johnson and Van Buren Counties to specifically bring to these communities integrated behavioral and physical healthcare to treat the whole person. Additionally, the grant will support new evidence-based specialized services such as trauma-informed care and Assertive Community Treatment.
Counseling Associates Vice President of Clinical Services, Lee Koone, LCSW said of the grant, “We are thankful for the opportunity to bring to our communities a comprehensive care system to provide early detection, expanded access to care, coordination of services between providers and improved outcomes through collaborative efforts with our stakeholders. We know that traumatic childhood experiences have a significant lifelong impact on both health and quality of life; individuals with severe mental illness have an increased risk of chronic medical problems and in our communities we have seen an increase in the need for emergency services. This grant will enable us to develop the infrastructure to support these additional levels of care for those we serve”.
Counseling Associates CEO Brian Davis added, “Counseling Associates has served Arkansans with mental health and/or substance use disorders for almost 50 years and we are excited about this new opportunity to build upon that foundation by expanding our continuum of care with evidence-based approaches that nurture health and well-being for all and transform our communities one life at a time”.