MDCS groups are 1.5 hours in length. Groups are conducted by State approved facilitators. The curriculum comprises twenty four group sessions which must be completed prior to discharge. Content supports the belief that domestic violence is not provoked as a result of substance abuse.

The DUI Program provides substance abuse courses to DUI offenders or others who may be required to attend a DUI program by the court. This includes those who must attend a DUI program as a requirement of administrative driver license suspension and those who wish to enroll after arrest but prior to conviction for DUI. All instructors, evaluators and clinical supervisors are licensed and certified. Participation in the DUI Program includes both a course and a substance abuse evaluation. Clients who have been arrested for a DUI or like charge for the first time will attend the Level I course which us 12 hours in length. DUI clients who have had more than one DUI arrest during their lifetime or have attended a DUI Program at any time, regardless of location, must attend the Level II course which is 21 hours in length.

MDCS provides substance abuse groups for program participants. Each group lasts a total of one hour and participants are expected to attend once a week, except in drug court cases where twice a week attendance and urine analysis are required by the courts. Substance abuse groups are conducted by either licensed or certified professionals.

● Anger Management:

Participants are educated on how to understand and overcome anger. Clients will learn that anger is a completely normal, usually healthy, human emotion. But when it gets out of control and turns destructive, it can lead to problems—problems at work, in personal relationships, and in the overall quality of life.

● Responsible Parenting:

Educate participants about a series of strategies that parents should follow if they want to be responsible. Setting responsible parenting guidelines and boundaries can lead to new opportunities to creatively make decisions for the health and wellbeing of children.

● Drug and Alcohol Education:

The purpose of this program is to intervene in the alcohol/drug abusing lifestyles of the participants in order to prevent future substance abuse related problems. Participants are educated on dependency and abuse.

● Questioning Faulty Beliefs:

This course helps individuals to change emotional states by changing thoughts, limiting beliefs, and other cognitive distortions. This course may include specific subjects as: sex education; HIV and AIDS; carrying concealed weapon; shoplifting; boating, fishing and/or wildlife offenses; or DWLS.

● The Theft Abatement

Program is based on the cognitive-behavioral model that focuses on teaching clients specific skills. These four and eight hour classes are appropriate for a number of theft offenses. By focusing on the ways that thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are connected and affect one another, this program helps clients discover that he/she is powerful and capable of choosing positive thoughts and behaviors. Clients will develop the skills to notice, interrupt, and correct negative thoughts and behaviors.

Outpatient mental health services at MDCS includes the provision of the evaluation and diagnosis of mental illnesses, therapy (individual and group), and medication management. Therapy is usually a general term used to reference the sessions held between a therapist and a patient. Group therapy brings together a small group of individuals with a similar issue or diagnosis with a therapist who provides psychotherapy. The interactions among the members are considered to be therapeutic.

A psychological evaluation is a set of assessment procedures administered to obtain information about an individual’s unique intellectual, personality, and emotional functioning. At MDCS, almost all new patients are recommended for a psychological evaluation in order to better assess their treatment needs. Individuals may also seek psychological evaluation separately from psychotherapy services. Evaluations are conducted over a period of 4-8 hours, depending on the battery of tests best suited to the individual’s presenting issues. The evaluation results may be used to inform the therapeutic goals and interventions.

• Eating disorders
• Depression
• Anxiety Disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, panic attacks and social phobia
• Sexual/Physical Abuse – adults and children
• Grief and Bereavement
• Behavioral Medicine, e.g., chronic pain, cancer
• Eating Disorders
• Marital and Couples Therapy
• Occupational/Work Problems
• Children’s Play Therapy
• Geriatrics, e.g., depression, dementia, family concerns
• ADHD
• Parenting Skills
• School Problems
• Dual Diagnosis
• Relapse Prevention Treatment

We offer Individual, Couples and Family counseling by licensed mental health professionals. We provide flexible hours. Specifically for family counseling, we offer 50-60 minutes sessions with two or more people who are in a familial relationship.

Our program ensures that HIV-infected individuals and those who are at an increased risk for HIV: (1) have access to HIV testing to promote early knowledge of their HIV status; (2) receive high-quality HIV prevention counseling to reduce their risk for transmitting or acquiring HIV; and (3) have access to appropriate medical, preventive, and psychosocial support services.

Miami Dade Community Services would like to implement a comprehensive Substance Abuse Program serving youth ages 13 to 17 years of age. Participants in need will receive substance abuse prevention, life skills and activities that are alternatives to crime and drug use. The Youth Program Project will provide in-home family therapy to adolescents who exhibit moderate or severe substance abuse problems.

Therapy will be a family-focused intervention, involving a structured process of continuous engagement with the adolescent, siblings, their parents and other family members. Therapy will emphasize youth and parent skill building, parent and adolescent relationship building, therapeutic interaction and crisis intervention. If the client is not able to complete services as a youth, we will be ready to continue the treatment episode, providing further adult substance abuse intervention.

The Program will build on family assets, working from points of strength rather than weaknesses. Services will include comprehensive assessment, service and treatment planning, case management, individual and family therapy and urinalysis monitoring. Families will benefit from enhanced functioning and reduction in conflict and disorganization.