St. Joseph Center for Children and Families, an outpatient behavioral health program, is a joint venture between Samaritan Counseling Center and St. Joseph Community Health. The Center aims to improve the quality of life for underserved and uninsured children and their families living in the La Mesa and Trumbull neighborhoods of Albuquerque’s Southeast area by expanding and coordinating behavioral health services with existing health care and social services.

The Center works in collaboration with Young Children’s Health Center, the public schools and other area health and helping agencies to ensure that families of the La Mesa and Trumbull neighborhoods, many of whom are Mexican immigrant families, receive carefully coordinated behavioral health care. The Center pays particular attention to these immigrant families who have been identified as some of the most underserved of this area. Services are not denied regardless of immigrant status and are offered in Spanish and English by licensed master’s level therapists.

The Center recognizes that the families of this community are some of the most underserved of the city and the focus is on helping them reach their full potential by helping them deal with family problems, domestic violence, anxiety, depression, trauma, adjustment issues and grief and loss. A family systems approach views the child as part of the family and the family as part of the neighborhood and community. The Center works towards empowering individuals and their families to locate strengths and resources both within themselves and within the community.

The Center is respectful of and honors people’s experiences, values, beliefs, traditions and spirituality. Culturally centered behavioral health services include: individual therapy for children and adults; family therapy; couples counseling and school-based psycho-educational groups.

One of the goals of the Center is to make behavioral health care accessible and affordable to the community and particularly to those families who have no health insurance. A sliding scale based on family size and household annual income is used to determine fees. Most health insurances and Medicaid are also accepted. The Center does not turn anyone away because of inability to pay.

Partial funding for this program is provided by