Have you ever Experienced These?

• Concern that your child is not growing socially and emotionally like other kids
• Loss of sleep due to concerns for your child
• Gut feeling that something is not right with your child
• Wishing this would be a phase in your child’s life that will be outgrown.

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Do these Behaviors Sound Familiar?

• Aggressive or disruptive
• Violent or cruel behavior
• Avoiding social contact
• Absence of speech
• Poor communication skills
  
• Low self-esteem
• Inappropriate fears
• Depression and moodiness
• Hyperactive
• Explosive temper
• Suicidal threats
• Lying and cheating
• Manipulating others
• Out of touch with reality
• Unusual eating or sleeping habits
• Trouble maintaining good grades at school
• Few or no friends
• Difficulty with most relationships

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Key Mental Health Services/Agencies

UPLIFT (Family Advocacy)
4007 Greenway, Suite 201
Cheyenne, WY 82001
Phone: (307) 778-8686
Fax: (307) 778-8681
Toll Free: 1-888-UPLIFT3
E-mail: uplift@upliftwy.org

Protection & Advocacy (P&A)
320 West 25th Street, 2nd Floor
Cheyenne, WY 82001
Mental Health Program
Phone: (307) 632-3496
Fax:  (307) 638-0815
Clients only: 1-800-654-7972
Email: wypanda@wypanda.com
Web Page: http://wypanda.com

Department of Family Services (DFS)
2300 Capitol Avenue, 3rd Floor
Cheyenne, WY 82001-3644
Phone: (307) 777-7567
Fax: (307) 777-7747
Web Page: http://dfsweb.state.wy.us

Children’s Special Health
6101 Yellowstone Road, Suite 420
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Phone: (307) 777-7941

Toll Free: 1-800-438-5795
 

Office of Medicaid  (Equality Care)
6101 Yellowstone Road, Suite 210
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Phone: (307) 777-7531

Toll Free: 1-866-571-0944

Public Health Nursing
6101 Yellowstone Road, Suite 420
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Phone: (307) 777-6360

Supplemental Social Security Income (SSI)
Toll Free: 1-800-772-1213

Wyoming Kid Care CHIP
A low-cost private health insurance plan that provides health insurance coverage to eligible children who are under the age of 19.
Toll Free:  1 (877) KIDS NOW  (1-877-543-7669)
Web Page: http://kidcare.state.wy.us 

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Division
6101 Yellowstone Road, Room 220
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Phone: (307) 777-7094
Web Page: www.wdh.state.wy.us/mhsa

Maternal and Family Health
Wyoming Department of Health Community and Family Health Division
6101 Yellowstone Road, Suite 420
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Phone: (307) 777-7942
Fax: (307) 777-3617

Community Mental Health Center
The state provides mental health services through 16 regional Community Mental Health Centers. Services are provided on a sliding fee scale. See county listing for the center closest to you.

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Does my family need mental health services?

We expect that in our lifetimes we will need to see health providers such as:
a Dentist, a Medical Doctor, possibly a Surgeon.

The need for mental health providers may be no different. In fact, our need for mental health care can be just as real as a toothache and just as treatable.

This pamphlet is provided to help you in accessing Mental Health Services in your region of Wyoming. These services might include screening and evaluation, early intervention, school modifications, individual and family counseling, day treatment programs, inpatient or residential programs, and parent training or skills building.

The important thing to remember is that mental disorders are treatable. Don’t be afraid to reach out for help. The road toward mental wellness for your family begins with YOU.

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Mental Health Services: A Parent’s Perspective
by Peggy Nikkel, Casper

Raising a child with emotional disorders is a challenge many Wyoming parents face on a daily basis. Those same parents often feel isolated, alone and hopeless regarding their child’s needs. Many parents refuse to discuss their child’s needs due to the stigma of having an emotional disorder or mental illness, denial of the child’s needs, shame and self-blame for the child’s disorder, or frustration brought on by failed attempts to access good services.

After parenting a child with a variety of emotional needs for 18 years, I have experienced all these feelings. Through the years we have struggled to find adequately trained childcare providers, local schools willing to provide modifications sufficient to enable success for our son, teachers, doctors and counselors willing to believe the severity of our son’s problem, and service providers who were trained to work with children.

I have known the heartache of repeated inpatient psychiatric hospital stays for our son beginning at age three, the devastation of signing the first school papers qualifying our son for special education, the grief of placing our son in residential care for 18 months at age nine, the persistent feelings of selfblame fostered by service providers, recurrent fears of doubt that I could parent my son, the secret hope that we would find the magic cure, and the intense shame when our son would act out in public settings.

I also know, first hand, the importance of finding good mental health services for your child, starting early with good evaluations, modifications, interventions, and medications if necessary, strong family and community supports, and consistency in parenting. At the age of 18, our son is on the road to success in management of his emotional and learning disorders and is planning for a future of independence.

Wyoming is building a good system of mental health care for our children and adolescents. Call UPLIFT and talk to another family member about how you and your family can get connected. It will be worth it for your child!

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Children and Mental Health Services: Things to Consider

• Children should have access to a comprehensive array of services that address the child’s physical, emotional, social and educational needs
• Children should receive individualized services according to their unique needs.
• Children should receive services within the least restrictive environment.
• The family, no matter how defined should be a full participant in all aspects of the planning and delivery of services to their child.
• Children and their families should receive services that link all their care-givers together for complete and informed treatment.
• Children should be insured smooth transitions to the adult service system as they reach maturity.
• The rights of children should be protected, and effective advocacy efforts for children and youth should be promoted.
• Children should receive services without regard to race, religion, natural origin, sex, physical disability, or other characteristics, and services should be sensitive and responsive to cultural differences and special needs.

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