Programs

NORTHAMPTON CENTER FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

The Residential Program at Northampton Center for Children and Families (NCCF) provides a therapeutic milieu for 22 children ages 8 to 19 years, in a community setting with educational and clinical facilities on the grounds. Our clients live in three Victorian houses, serving seven or eight youths each. In these small groups, the young people develop meaningful and positive relationships with the residential counselors.

We provide individually focused treatment plans, counseling, behavioral structures, and close supervision as well as individual, group, and family therapy and psychopharmocological consultation. In addition to typical home-life activities such as homework, personal care, and chores, the young people also participate in group meetings, on- and off-grounds social and recreational activities, and work to repair behavioral problems. Family visits and involvement are welcome, and indeed, considered essential to the program’s success. The Residential Program is licensed by the Office of Child Care Services (OCCS).

New Directions School is a 766-approved private school, providing special-education services to 30 youngsters, including 22 residential students and eight day students. While adhering to Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, instruction is individualized to meet the needs of a diverse group of learners. An alternative approach to education fosters creativity, motivation, and students’ ownership of and pride in their work. The social/emotional curriculum is integrated into the entire school experience.

New Directions School operates 12 months per year. During the summer, students participate in high-interest, interactive, thematic, academic or work opportunities both on campus and in the community. New Directions is licensed by the Department of Education (DOE).

THREE RIVERS

The Three Rivers Program provides quality residential care for 12 children ages five to 12 with severe emotional difficulties. These children are in need of long-term mental health treatment in a clinically intensive, fully integrated setting. In a campus- like setting in Springfield that includes a residence, a school, a clinical/administrative building, and a gymnasium, the program provides a highly structured environment in which children can maximize their potential to grow, mature, and engage in effective, normalizing experiences.

Family involvement is crucial to the success of any treatment effort. Creating opportunities for families to alter existing patterns, dynamics, and conditions ? which contribute to the emotional difficulties of the child ? is a central goal of the program. The year-round program is based on the Milieu Therapy model of a fully integrated treatment community. This intensive residential living situation also includes individual, family, art, and recreational therapies as well as clubs, a special-education school, psychopharmacological services, and health care.

THE CHILDREN’S CLINIC

The Children’s Clinic is the outpatient services component of the Cutchins Programs. Located in a sun-filled Victorian home in downtown Northampton, the Clinic offers a welcoming environment to children and families experiencing a broad range of emotional and behavioral challenges. The Clinic began in 1985 with a mission of providing the best-trained clinicians to work with those children most in need of services, a mission that continues to hold strong.

The Clinic attracts highly experienced clinicians looking for a collaborative clinical team and leadership that prioritizes the quality of services offered. As is true throughout Cutchins Programs, staff longevity is a striking feature at the Clinic, permitting children and families with complex needs to be followed by the same clinicians intermittently over many years. From the beginning, the Clinic has specialized in providing services for abused and neglected children, children with histories of loss and disrupted attachment, very young children (infants to 5 years), and children who have been exposed to various traumas. With 11 part-time staff members, the Clinic serves more than 350 children and families annually from Hampshire County and the surrounding area.