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Health and Well-Being Unit
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The mission of the Health and Well Being Unit (HWB) is to extend services that address the specific emotional and physical health needs of Court Employment Project participants in a supportive and non-judgmental environment. Social workers, art therapists and substance abuse counselors work collaboratively with participants to foster positive coping skills, personal growth, creativity, and a drug-free life style. We provide both general mental health and substance abuse services.

MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
Within the first 30-days at the Court Employment Project participants are given the Massachusetts Youth Services Instrument (MAYSI) which alerts staff to any critical mental health issues the youth may be facing. Youth are then matched with the appropriate services in the Health and Well Being Unit to address the psychological issues that a participant may have. The Unit offers one-on-one and group therapy or art therapy. On an as needed basis the Unit, through partnerships with community-based treatment providers, also makes referrals for psychiatric evaluations and off-site psychiatric services.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES
Within the first 30 days of the program, all CEP participants are tested for drug use and are tested at random while they are in the program. Substance abuse counselors work with CEP participants who test positive for substance use to eliminate drug and alcohol use. The overarching goal of our substance abuse treatment is to help participants identify triggers that lead them to use illegal substances, build tools to abstain from use, and ultimately live substance-free lives. Services include both individual counseling and a marijuana cessation group, where necessary services will also include referrals to community-based treatment providers.

SEVERE EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED (SED) YOUTH Over the last decade, the percentage of youth in jail and detention has risen thirty-seven percent. At the same time, youth with a mental illness or a serious emotional disturbance are over-represented in the juvenile justice system. In the non-incarcerated youth population, only twenty percent of youth have a mental health problem, with nine to thirteen percent experiencing a serious emotional disturbance. However, between fifty to seventy-five percent of youth in the justice system have a diagnosable mental health disorder, and a startling twenty percent suffer from a serious emotional disturbance like manic depression or schizophrenia. In jail or detention, these youth are exposed to inconsistent psychiatric services, abuse by jail staff, and improper administration of medication. Such conditions may worsen young people’s problems and impair their reintegration into their communities.

Although many of our young people are in need of community-based mental health treatment services, the adolescent mental health treatment system is difficult to access and navigate without clinical expertise in assessing mental health problems among youth, strong advocacy skills, and a thorough knowledge of the adolescent mental health system. Without access to mental health treatment in their communities, youth with mental health problems are in jeopardy of continued, untreated illness, which may make it impossible for them to fulfill court sanctions or lead to their further criminal activity.

In response to this problem, we have begun to put together an initiative to address the needs of the many youth with mental health problems in our programs. Staffed with social workers, the program will ensure that youth with mental health problems will receive comprehensive assessments and substantive care. Through the use of strong clinical and advocacy skills, staff will be able to place youth in community-based mental health care slots and then follow up to ensure that the youth are getting the care they need. By meting the mental health needs of court-involved young people, we will be paving the way for them to succeed in the multitude of skill-building services CEP has to offer and ultimately keep them from returning to the criminal justice system.

ART THERAPY
Art Therapy is the specialized, professional and psycho-therapuetic use of art media, the creative process and client's responses to art productions. Art productions and process are seen as reflections of an individual's development, abilities, personality, interests, concerns and conflicts. Art Therapy is based on a knowledge of human development, psychotherapy, and theories which are implemented in assessment and treatment. It is used as a primary mode of therapy or as an adjunctive therapy with other health care professionals. Art Therapy is used for identifying and reconciling emotional conflicts, fostering self-awareness, developing social skills, managing behavior, problem solving, reducing anxiety, aiding reality orientation, and increasing self-esteem.

A significant part of our approach in working with young people has been the use of art therapy. Art therapists utilize both verbal and creative modalities, such as drawing, painting and sculpture, to enhance self-expression and further the therapeutic process. The art work produced in a therapy session often provides a springboard for resistant or verbally withdrawn participants to speak more openly about their experiences and feelings. For example, an Art Therapist working with an emotionally overwhelmed participant would use structured materials that would offer a sense of control and safety, such as a box project where the participant can create a safe space in which they place images of what overwhelms them inside. Such a project offers the participant an opportunity to organize their experience, express their feelings and gain perspective.