Family Counseling Centers
CMHA provides individual, couples, family and group psychotherapy for those experiencing personal, emotional, interpersonal relationship, family and parenting, and substance abuse problems. The counseling program is staffed by licensed marriage and family therapists, social workers, and counselors, as well as board certified psychiatrists and APRN’s.

Office hours:
9 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday, with evening hours by appointment.

The New Britain program is open until 8:00 pm on Tuesday through Thursday, The Lakeville program is open until 7:00 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Torrington program is open Monday from 8:00 am-8:00 pm, Tuesday-Thursday 8:00 am-6:00 pm, Friday 8:00 am-5:00 pm, and Saturday 9:00 am-1:00 pm.

Family Based Recovery     Click here to see this program featured on NBC 30 news!
26 Russell Street, New Britain, CT 06052
(860) 223-2788
The Family Based Recovery Program is an in home service program which provides family recovery and substance abuse treatment to families who have identified substance abuse issues and a child(ren) under 2 years old in the home. The program also provides individual, family and group therapy and child attachment treatment. Clinicians work with child behavioral issues, housing, transportation and other basic needs of families. Services are provided between the hours of 9:00 am to 8:00 pm, and crisis team coverage is also provided.

STEP Program
26 Russell Street, New Britain, CT 06052
(860) 223-2778
STEP offers intensive parent training groups to equip parents with tools to improve behaviors of children who are experiencing severe behavioral problems or have been suspended/expelled from pre-school or kindergarten due to extreme and dangerous behaviors.

Community Housing Assistance Program (CHAP)
125-C Whiting Street, New Britain, CT 06051
(860) 229-4830
CHAP provides case management to DCF-referred adolescents age 17 -21 as they move from foster care to their first independent apartment. The team provides counseling and identifies goals to foster independent living and works with clients to establish an education and budget plan, as well as nutrition, interpersonal, parenting, housekeeping, and safety skills. The program serves clients in New Britain, Meriden, West Hartford, and Bristol.

Intensive Family Preservation (IFP)
100 Commercial Boulevard, Torrington, CT 06790
(860) 482-8561
The IFP program provides in-depth, at-home psychiatric and clinical assistance on a 24-hour seven-day-a-week basis for families at risk of having children removed, or whose children have returned from out-of-home placement. A range of clinical and concrete services are provided, including parenting education, advocacy, counseling, crisis intervention, life management, and problem solving. Reunification services are designed to stabilize and support the family system.

Intensive Safety Planning (ISP)
100 Commercial Boulevard, Torrington, CT 06790
(860) 482-8561
The ISP program provides in-home care for DCF-referred families and addresses the safety factors that led to the placement of the children. Clients are taught necessary skills to create a safe, nurturing home environment.
Program hours are 9:00 am-5:00 pm Monday-Friday, with 24-hour on call coverage.

Foster Care Clinic
120 Park Lane Road, New Milford, CT 06776
(860) 354-4135
The Foster Care Clinic provides assessments of children who are being placed in Department of Children and Families (DCF) foster care for the first time. A clinician, pediatrician and dental hygienist provide a comprehensive multidisciplinary examination including medical, dental, mental health and/or developmental, substance abuse screening and psychosocial components for children and youth referred by the Department of Children and Families. Evaluations are performed between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm Monday through Friday, as needed by DCF referrals.

Parent Education Program
100 Commercial Boulevard, Torrington, CT 06790
(860) 482-8561
120 Park Lane Road, New Milford, CT 06776
(860) 354-4135
26 Russell Street, New Britain, CT 06052
(860) 223-2788
The Parent Education Program is sponsored by the Connecticut Council of Family Service Agencies (CCFSA) and serves parents who are undergoing a divorce. The program, a court-required education course offered by the Northwest Center since 1994, helps parents learn how to lessen the pain and impact of divorce on their children.

The program runs once per month from 10:00 am-4:00 pm on Saturdays in Torrington; 10:00 am-4:00 pm on Sundays in New Milford;  and 5:30-8:30 pm every other week on Tuesday and Wednesday in New Britain.

Foster and Adoptive Support Team (FAST)
965 South Main Street, Waterbury, CT 06706
(203) 596-9724
FAST supports foster and adoptive families through a range of services, allowing children to live in safe and stable home settings and averting disruptions. Services include:
• Preliminary in-home child and family assessment
• Service plan development
• Behavior support
• Crisis intervention
• Case management
• Respite
• Additional service identification
• Referral/transition planning
• Coordination of care with Department of Children & Families (DCF) and community providers

FAST FAQ’S
What is the FAST program? A comprehensive, strengths based training and support program designed to give foster parents the tools they need to promote desired behaviors and minimize undesirable ones.

Are you DCF workers? Although we work collaboratively with DCF and are contracted providers for DCF, we are not DCF workers.  The FAST program staff is employed by a non-profit organization called Community Mental Health Affiliates (CMHA).

Do you do individual and family counseling? We do not provide counseling, however, if additional services are identified for the family we work closely with DCF and foster parents to ensure the implementation of such services.

How does the program work? The FAST Program Coordinator conducts a comprehensive assessment to determine the needs of the referred client and foster parents, creates a treatment plan, and along with the Behavior Support worker, assists the parents with implementing the program.

What is strengths based training? All people have talents and/or things they are good at, positive characteristics and unique skills. The FAST program builds on the strengths of the individual and family to develop desired or positive behavior.

If you don’t do counseling how do you help us? All foster children have problems and issues unique to their situation. Through positive reinforcement techniques we teach foster parents how to handle these problems and issues in an appropriate, effective and positive responsive way.  We also support foster parents through this process by scheduling individual meetings and being available to you 24/7 for telephone consults in the event of a crisis. In addition to teaching foster parents effective parenting techniques this program also promotes family unity and helps build relationships between all family members.

What if there are other children in the home, do you work with them also? Although we have a specific client in mind because of the referral process, the techniques we teach can be used with anyone in the family. It is suggested and encouraged that foster parents use all techniques with every child in the home.  Any feelings of favoritism toward the referred client dissipate by having foster parents implement techniques and reward charts if needed with all children and family unity is established.

Don’t you teach the child how to behave? No, we teach techniques that the foster parents can use to promote desired behavior, handle difficult situations and reduce or eliminate aggressiveness by the child.

Community Support Program (CSP)
92 Vine Street, New Britain, CT 06052
(860) 826-4985, ext. 233
The Community Support Program (CSP) provides innovative, recovery-oriented mental health and substance abuse rehabilitation
services to assist individuals in achieving and maintaining independent community living. The services are delivered through a team
approach which provides all-encompassing support for a variety of issues, including managing mental health or co-occurring disorders.

Focus on Kids Program
100 Commercial Boulevard, Torrington, CT 06790
(860) 482-8561
120 Park Lane Road, New Milford, CT 06776
(860) 354-4135
26 Russell Street, New Britain, CT 06052
(860) 223-2788
Focus on Kids assists high conflict, separated, divorced, or divorcing parents in acquiring skills to work together in parenting. The goal is to increase parental focus on the children and thereby decrease the conflict between them as it relates to parenting. Focus on Kids is designed to assist parents learn to make parenting decisions for themselves without the intervention of the legal system. The program emphasizes communication and offers many opportunities to practice skills and techniques to lessen conflict in making parenting decisions. Based on the premise that given the skills and tools to do so, parents are the best decision makers for their children, Focus on Kids results in positive effects for the children of divorce, keeps decision making the responsibility of the parents, and is more timely and cost effective than lengthy court processes.

Days and Hours of Service:
Monday 8:00 am-8:00 pm; Tuesday-Thursday 8:00 am-6:00 pm; Friday 8:00 am-5:00 pm; Saturday 9:00 am-1:00 pm.

Reconnecting Families Program (RFP)
26 Hart Street, New Britain CT 06052
(860) 827-1511
RFP is an intensive, home-based program works to return children who are still in foster care to their biological families through a permanency plan. The program coordinates efforts with the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), the biological family, and the foster parents to ensure the most stable transition process possible.

RFP case workers service each family’s needs, whether it be helping them find work, applying for aid, getting electricity turned back on, or whatever problem may be a barrier to the child returning home.  RFP case workers also work with foster parents to help them serve as models for the biological families, to become a part of the reunification experience, and to release the child from their care.

Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP)
100 Commercial Boulevard, Torrington, CT 06790
(860) 482-8561
RSVP provides active seniors (55 and over) with rewarding ways to use their lifetime of experience to help others by linking them with a variety of volunteer options. RSVP participants are involved with everything from distributing food for the homeless to working in hospitals and shelters. America Reads with RSVP, an affiliated program, matches senior reading tutors with children in grades K-3.