FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is Newport Mental Health a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic?

Yes! In fact, Newport Mental Health was the first federally designated Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) in Rhode Island. The standards for this designation require the provision of nine cutting-edge research tested mental health and substance use disorder services for adults and children, including same-day access, as well as child and adult mobile crisis services.

Requirements also include adopting a set of strict governance standards and meeting federal cultural and diversity requirements.

Who can use Newport Mental Health Services?

Newport Mental Health provides a full range of outpatient mental health, substance abuse, and crisis intervention services to all residents of Newport County, regardless of insurance status and/or ability to pay. In 2021, Newport Mental Health provided services to over 1,800 residents of Newport County.

Newport Mental Health employs mental health professionals who work with children, adolescents, families, and adults. Newport Mental Health is the place you can turn 24 hours a day, 7 days per week when you or your loved one needs mental health or substance use care. Our same day walk-in assessment center, mobile crisis services and 24-hour, 7-day-a-week crisis line are there when you need help.

Does Newport Mental Health charge for services?

Newport Mental Health accepts all major insurance plans. Patients without insurance coverage are billed on a sliding scale based on their income level and ability to pay. No residents of Newport County are denied services because of their inability to pay.

How is Newport Mental Health funded?

Less than 50% of Newport Mental Health’s costs are covered by reimbursements from health insurance companies for the services provided to its residents. The majority of funding is a combination of state and federal grants and donations from generous community members, foundations, and corporations.

What Services Are Offered by Newport Mental Health Offer for People Seeking Counseling and Therapy?

Newport Mental Health offers a vast array of services to meet the needs of Newport County residents with a goal of increased independence and quality of life for all clients.

In focused individual and group therapy and medication services are prIovided for adults in need of outpatient therapy or substance-use counseling. Children, adolescents, and their family are provided outpatient counseling and in-home services. Newport Mental Health also provides school-based clinical services in almost every school in Newport County.

What Services Are Provided for People with More Serious Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders?

For adults with serious long-term mental health issues like post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia a multi-disciplinary team-based approach is used that includes medical doctors and nurses, mental health professionals, vocational counselors, peer support, and case managers. This approach is based in positive research outcomes and helps get people back to their jobs and family lives with the goal of creating a stable environment for clients and their families.

Research shows that adults with a serious mental illness have a life expectancy over 20 years shorter than those without these disorders. To address this, our adult treatment teams are also health homes that integrate addressing our client’s healthcare needs as well as their behavioral health treatment. In addition, onsite primary care services are offered for these adult clients.

Does Newport Mental Health offer other services for specific populations in Newport County?

Yes! Newport Mental Health partners with police and fire department to help individuals in acute psychiatric crisis and maintains a 24/7 emergency crisis line staffed by licensed Newport Mental Health employees trained to deal with a range of mental health issues and disorders.

Other services include a homeless outreach with behavioral health services; a Supportive Employment initiative, which helps clients find competitive employment. A range of residential services and supportive housing is also provided such as Freedom Apartments, a supervised apartment program providing one-bedroom apartments to adults with serious mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders.

Newport Mental Health also maintains a Young Adult Center, which treats clients from 16-25 with the most sophisticated level of outpatient mental healthcare available in Newport County. This kind of treatment is especially important because research consistently shows that serious mental illness often manifests for the first time between the ages of 17-24. Early intervention, treatment, and support can make an enormous difference for these clients and their families.

How has the pandemic impacted mental health?

While the need for mental health services has been steadily increasing, it has exploded during the pandemic. In the last two years, the number of youth and adults who reported symptoms of anxiety and depression nearly quadrupled, and U.S. hospitals reported a 51% increase in emergency room visits for suicide attempts by adolescent girls in 2021 as compared to 2019. Newport County has mirrored these larger trends, and the result has been a considerable increase in the number of residents of Newport County seeking mental health services.