Home-Based Counseling

The Nexus and Family Focus Professional Home-Based Counseling Services Program provides family-centered home-based therapy, and skill building/mentoring services to youth. The goal is to prevent unnecessary placement of youth outside the home, offer reunification services when placement has been necessary, and help prevent disruptions while the youth is in placement.

Family Focus provides the following home-based counseling services:

• Family assessments
• Crisis safety planning
• Intensive therapy
• Flexible hours
• Coordination with significant others
• Referral to appropriate services
• Support and skill training for families
• Diagnostic assessment services

Professional Home-Based Services

Family-centered, home-based therapy through Child Therapeutic Support Services (CTSS) that provides skill-building and mentoring services.

• Prevents unnecessary placement of youth outside of home.
• Support and skill training for foster care placements.
• Diagnostic assessment services.

Skill-Building and Mentoring

Is your child struggling emotionally or behaviorally? Are you feeling overwhelmed and looking for some support and guidance? In addition to foster care and adoptive services, Family Focus offers counseling and therapeutic services through our Professional Home-Based Services program.

This program combines skill-building services and individual and family counseling services with the comfort and privacy of your own home. Skills workers and therapists work with clients and their families in their homes, allowing for a collaborative "hands-on" approach that seeing a mental health professional at an office rarely can.

Professional Home-Based Services are available to any youth with Medical Assistance, UCARE, South Country Health Alliance, BluePlus, MNCare, or other Minnesota state-funded insurances, whether living with their biological, adoptive, or foster families. Our skills workers and therapists can help with any concern ranging from improving communication and relationship skills to managing depression, anxiety, and trauma.

How to Get Started

• Contact our Southern Region Office at 507-434-3586 or our Metro Region Office at 612-331-4429. Our office coordinator will review basic information of your case, including insurance coverage, to determine eligibility for services.
• A Mental Health Practitioner will then contact you to schedule an assessment session for you and your youth. This session will take place in your home and consist of interviews with you and your youth to review your current concerns, personal and family history, and goals for the future. This information will help you and your Professional Home-Based Counselor identify your needs and develop a treatment plan.
• A Professional Home-Based Counselor will then be assigned to you. Your counselor will contact you to schedule your first session. In this session, your Professional Home-Based Counselor will review the assessment report with you and help you fill out necessary paperwork, including consent forms and questionnaires.
• With your permission, our Professional Home-Based Counselor will also coordinate with other treatment team members such as your doctor, psychiatrist, therapist, social worker, school counselor, and teachers to ensure comprehensive, quality care.

All Family Focus therapists are mental health professionals with extensive experience in community-based work. Our Life Skills workers are mental health practitioners who also have at least two years’ experience in community-based work.