In this Newsletter:
  • Holiday Hours
  • Best of Alaska!
  • Managing Holiday Expectations
  • Mobile Crisis Grant
  • Alaska Child Trauma Center levels up!
  • Parent Child Interaction Therapy
Happy Holidays!
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, another holiday, or all of the above - we wish you well this holiday season!

Our clinics will be closed December 23, December 26 and January 2 to celebrate the holidays and ring in the new year!

Our Residential programs will be fully staffed and open through the holidays, and our Assertive Community Treatment team will be checking in with clients during the long holiday weekends.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, dial the new national mental health help line 988 to connect to local resources. Alaska's Careline can be reached directly at 1-877-266-4357.
Voted Best of Alaska 2022!
Thank you for voting us Alaska's best Behavioral and Mental Health provider - Platinum level!

Every day, we are honored to work with our clients, to be trusted with stories both hard and happy, and to contribute to healthier communities in Alaska. We look forward to serving you as long as you need it!
Managing Holiday Expectations
graphic with words saying real life is not a holiday card #12daysofholidaywellness
Our partners at the Cohen Veterans Network have been sharing #12daysofholidaywellness tips on their social media channels. This is one of our favorites: a reminder to let go of perfection.

Other tips:
  • Take time for yourself (try to stick to your exercise routine through the holidays!)
  • When things get chaotic, pause, take a breath and be in the moment
  • Say no: its ok to decline invitations or set boundaries for talking about sensitive topics
Fairbanks Mobile Crisis Team funding renewed!
AKBH Mobile Crisis Team staff with representatives from the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority and other communities who'd like to initiate an MCT.
Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority grant continues crisis team work in Fairbanks.
On December 6, the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Board authorized an $800,000 grant to Alaska Behavioral Health to continue operating the community's Mobile Crisis Team. The MCT is dispatched when callers to 9-8-8 or 9-1-1 are experiencing a mental health crisis. A clinician and a peer go into the community to meet people in crisis, provide support and connect them to resource for on-going care. In 80% of cases, individuals needs are able to be addressed in the community without moving to a higher level of care (like the hospital) or resulting in an arrest. It takes a lot of coordination to run the MCT - working with the City of Fairbanks police and fire departments 9-1-1 dispatch, and we're lucky to have such great partners!
Child & Family Program Updates
The Alaska Child Trauma Center levels up!
Expanding Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
Members of our Little Tykes team traveled to the Baker's Child Center in Boston, MA for training.
Our early childhood team is participating in a national learning collaborative for Parent Child Interaction Therapy, to increase use of this evidence-based practice in Alaska. In PCIT, parents and children play while a therapist provides live-coaching to the parent through a headset. It's an effective intervention to for treating anxiety and trauma in children, which often manifests as defiance, aggression and other difficult-to-manage behaviors. Learn more about PCIT!
Are you passionate about serving children and families and excited to learn new evidence-based practices? We're hiring!

We have openings for both bachelors level Clinical Associates and Masters Level Clinicians in our Child & Family team. Check out our job postings!