Looking for a place to make new friends and learn how to recover and thrive while living with a mental illness? Look no further!

Turning Point, Seminole Behavioral Healthcare’s innovative Psychosocial Rehabilitation program, is actively seeking referrals for qualified candidates! If you’re interested in learning more about your mental illness and are in need of assistance in improving life and social skills, Turning Point is the place to be!

Who can be referred?

Adults living in Seminole County with a diagnosed mental illness that have a need and desire to improve daily functioning and life skills are eligible to be referred to Turning Point.

What happens at Turning Point?

All members of the Turning Point program are provided a primary counselor who creates a personalized Treatment Plan and works to assist their clients with learning to cope with life and mental illness. During the day, members attend two group sessions with Mental Health Counselors that cover everything from Understanding Mental Illness, Conflict Management, specific Women’s and Men’s only groups and everything in between!

Want to know the best part? Members have input into what groups they would most benefit from and have the chance to select NEW groups every 12 weeks!

A morning snack and lunch are provided for members and transportation to and from the program is also provided!

Click HERE to see Turning Point’s FULL group curriculum and check out the exciting groups offered at the program!

I’m interested! How do I sign up?

Great! We look forward to having you in the program!

You can either click on the “Contact Us” link in the top, right hand corner of SeminoleCares.org and send an e-mail to the agency regarding your interest and need for follow-up

OR

You can call the Turning Point Program Coordinator, Katherine Schroeder, directly at: (407) 323-2036 x2131 who will be happy to answer any further questions you may have and direct you about how best to seek a referral to the program.

If you are brand new to the agency and do not receive other services at Seminole Behavioral Healthcare, you can always drop in at the Access Center in Sanford Monday through Friday between 8am and 4pm and let them know that you are interested in attending Turning Point. The helpful staff in this department will be able to assess whether Turning Point is appropriate for you and make the referral to the program right then and there!

Turning Point is excited to have this opportunity to bring in new members to the program and is looking forward to meeting you and helping you on your road to recovery!

Originally posted on January 3, 2013 By Kate Santich, Orlando Sentinel

Although those with mental illness are far more likely to be victims of violence rather than perpetrators, there are tragic exceptions — including last month’s elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn. And one Central Florida agency wants to help educate the public on potential warning signs before the next crisis occurs.

“We believe it could save lives — not only in the physical sense, but also in the emotional sense,” said Jim Berko, president and CEO of Central Florida’s Seminole Behavioral Healthcare. “Intervening appropriately with a person suffering from mental illness can make all the difference in the world in their life and in the lives of those around them.”

Read the rest of the article on The Orlando Sentinel Website

Seminole Behavioral Healthcare’s CEO Jim Berko Discusses Mental Health Warning Signs with News 13

Click the Image to View the Video

In the wake of recent tragic events, and out of a desire to be responsive to the needs of our community, we are offering a brief introduction to Mental Health First Aid. This course is available free of charge throughout the month of January. This course serves as a preview of our two day, 12 hour course which leads to full certification in Mental Health First Aid. Those certified in Mental Health First Aid have been trained to identify some of the symptoms and warning signs of mental illness, as well as ways to respond and help a person to get the professional assistance that they need.

Click to download the Free Introduction to Mental Health First Aid

Local Behavioral Health Center providing FREE online, one-hour course

FERN PARK, Fla. (Dec. 20, 2012)–The professionals at Seminole Behavioral Healthcare join thousands of mental health professionals nationwide who are startled by the increase in public violence and are urging residents to arm themselves with the greatest weapon of all:  knowledge. “Knowing the signs to look for could, and has, saved lives,” said Jim Berko, CEO of Seminole Behavioral Health, located in Seminole County, Fla.

To that end, the local non-profit organization is offering a FREE online “Introduction to Mental Health First Aid” course that has been specially designed to address the growing demand to identify and respond in a helpful manner to outwardly exhibited mental health issues. The one-hour course will be available on-line beginning January 1, 2013 and will be accessible indefinitely, 24-hours a day via www.SeminoleCares.org.

“This course guides participants to recognize the signs and symptoms of troubling mental health disorders,” said Berko.  “We believe it could save lives – in the physical sense, but also in the emotional sense.  Intervening appropriately with a person suffering from mental illness can make all the difference in the world in their life and in the lives of those among them.”

Serious mental health issues affect one out of 20 people at any given time.  While diagnosing illness that may lead to outbursts and other inappropriate behaviors is best left to those who have been trained to do so, it’s important for the community to be educated on these major mental-health disorders, as they affect families and the communities at large, said Berko, whose organization has been a community partner in mental health issues since 1969.

Seminole Behavioral Healthcare rolled out a similar program in 2010 to help families and friends of veterans to identify post-traumatic stress disorder and depression and to guide them to the treatment plan best for each situation.

About Seminole Behavioral Healthcare

Founded in 1969, Seminole Behavioral Healthcare is a private, nonprofit organization whose goal is to provide comprehensive behavioral-health care. In the past year, more than 4,000 people in Seminole County were touched through the many programs provided by the organization. For more information, visit www.seminolecares.org.

Take a look at the numerous and varied recent innovations from Seminole Behavioral Healthcare. By staying on the cutting edge and always trying to improve our service delivery system, we position ourselves to continue to provide the highest quality services to our community.  Applied innovations often result in more people being served, in a better way, at a lower cost.   Click here to download the HD Version of this video..

Serving in the United States Navy in the Persian Gulf following the Desert Shield and Storm campaigns as a plan captain in the line shack (aircraft readiness and flight inspection for pre-launch and recovery) for F14 Tomcats on an aircraft carrier, Laurie was promoted to a position in the Navy’s Personnel section where she could apply her naturally developed people skills. After her service to her country, Laurie earned a B.S. degree with a major in sociology, and an M.S. degree in Marriage and Family Counseling. In addition, she is a Certified Addictions Professional and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She is an expert in quality assurance, clinical processes, clinical documentation, as well as specialized Medicaid documentation regulations and often provides instruction at SBH to other clinicians and clinical supervisors/managers on these topics. Serving as the Project Manager for SBH’s recent CARF re-certification, she was formally recognized by the SBH Board of Directors for her organizational skills and initiative due to CARF’s recognition and citation of SBH’s multitude of exemplary clinical practices. Laurie serves as the agency’s Consumer Grievance Advocate as well as the agency’s single point of contact for interpretation services. One of her most visible and well defined talents is her ability to clearly communicate clinical issues to administration, and to clearly communicate administrative issues to clinicians.

Laurie was part of the NCCBH’s ground floor Mental Health First Aid initiative and was on e of the first individuals certified in the nation. She was the Project Manager for the initial Florida training in Mental Health First Aid by the NCCBH for 15 community providers. In addition, Laurie has trained numerous individuals, clinicians, support staff and administrators in MHFA. She was SBH’s first pioneer in the new Behavioral Health Access Project which links primary care providers with the behavioral healthcare system, as well as linking the child welfare system with the behavioral health system. Working as a FQHC and a CBC each week, Laurie directly interfaces with patients and clients who in turn may need the services our field offers. She has been called on to Baker Act FQHC patients at times, and her work is deeply appreciated by the medical professional in the FQHC and the CBC. Her role as a healthcare navigator has positively impacted several lives in Seminole County and continues to do so to this day.

Acting in her role of our Veteran’s Coordinator, Laurie is often called upon to speak at functions such as external clinical gatherings and meetings, Chamber of Commerces, churches, governmental community service bodies, and functions focusing on adolescents and families of military personnel. Laurie has performed exceedingly well at those events and her media appearances. Although her official title is Director of Quality Improvement and Utilization Management, Laurie wears many hats and always reflects very positively on SBH as well as her profession and our service industry.

Please join us in extending our congratulations to Laurie on this accomplishment.

Dennis Lemma, a member of the Seminole County’s Sheriff’s Office who also serves on the Seminole Behavioral Healthcare’s board of directors was recently promoted to the rank of Major by Sheriff Eslinger. Congratulations to Major Lemma on a well-deserved recognition of his contributions to the Sheriff’s Office and the community!

Seminole Behavioral Healthcare has been chosen to participate in the first National Council Learning Community for Adoption of Trauma-Informed Practices. We are proud to be among the 21 organizations nationwide that have been selected by the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (National Council).

“The learning community is a group of healthcare organizations committed to creating environments and services that address the needs of individuals who have experienced significant trauma. The learning community is supported by an award from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.”

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FERN PARK, Fla. (May 4, 2010) – Seminole Behavioral Healthcare, alongside Winter Springs and Seminole County commissioners, unveiled the “Seminole Cares” bus Friday (April 30) to help raise the organization’s profile in the community and to celebrate the much-needed expansion of its crisis stabilization unit (CSU) into new quarters.

The unit, located at 919 E. 2nd St. in Sanford, is Seminole County’s only public Baker Act receiving facility and provides treatment for those with a potentially life-threatening mental illness.

“Our organization is seeing an increase in demand for our services, and now, thanks to our community partners, we will continue to meet that demand with a top-notch facility,” said President and CEO James P. Berko. “Without the support and funding from local, state and federal government, this would not have been possible.”

The new CSU has the capacity for 30 beds, a 43 percent increase from its old facility.

Founded in 1969, Seminole Behavioral Healthcare is a private, nonprofit organization whose goal is to provide comprehensive behavioral-health care. In the past year, more than 4,000 people in Seminole County were touched through the many programs provided by the organization. For more information, visit www.seminolecares.org.

Mental Health First Aid is a 12-hour interactive certification course designed to lower stigma surrounding mental illness by increasing ones skill in helping a person cope with a mental health crisis. It gives primary care providers, educators, businesses, and others in the public a tool and a resource to help overcome fear of a mental health crisis. Fear is generally the root of most stigmas. The stigma surrounding mental illnesses in the United States is no different: fear of not understanding the problem, fear of doing or saying the “wrong” thing and fear of not knowing what to do when someone needs help.

The course was developed in 2000 by Betty Kitchener and Professor Tony Jorm with the aim to improve the mental health literacy of Australians, it is now auspiced by ORYGEN Research Centre at the University of Melbourne, Department of Psychiatry. The training program has since been replicated in six countries, including Scotland, Great Britain and Canada.

Last year the National Council has adapted this well-researched Australian program for the American public. And as of January 2008, the United States has been added to this list of other countries and Seminole Behavioral Healthcare was one out of seven agencies to be apart of this inaugural group training.

As a National Council member, Seminole Behavioral Healthcare was chosen to represent the state of Florida in leading and managing the certification program. The National Council’s vision is that by the year 2025, Mental Health First Aid certification will be as common and as well-known as CPR and other first aid certifications.

To be apart of this vision, please contact Julie Emmer to request further information via email on our upcoming scheduled trainings or call by phone at (407) 831-2411 extension 1206.

Feel free to check out the following websites for more information about the Mental Health First Aid initiative in the United States, Florida and abroad.

The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare
http://www.thenationalcouncil.org/

Florida Council for Community Mental Health
http://www.fccmh.org/

Australia Mental Health First Aid
http://www.mhfa.com.au/

Florida Relay Services 711 for the hearing impaired.

1-800-955-8771 (TDD) or 1-800-955-8770 (Voice)

If you have questions concerning access or wish to request a sign language interpreter or inquire about accommodations for a disability, call our SBH Single Point of Contact at (407) 831-2411 x 1266. Early requests are encouraged; a week will generally allow us to provide seamless access. Thank you.