Behavioral Health - Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio

All Behavioral Health services at CLUES are offered through our Abriendo Caminos Centro de Bienestar y Prevención (Abriendo Caminos Wellness and Prevention Center).

As our name implies, we believe that as people move forward in their healing journey, new options and paths will open for them.

Abriendo Caminos will soon complete the process of becoming a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC). As a CCBHC, Abriendo Caminos will be a specially-designated clinic that provides easy access to a comprehensive array of mental health and substance use services. As a CCBHC, we serve anyone who walks through the door, regardless of their diagnosis and insurance status.

Currently, people who seek services at CLUES Abriendo Caminos may receive:

We strive to work with our participants in a way that celebrates each person’s cultural identity and recognizes the diversity within Latinidad. This includes welcoming community members across all gender identities and sexual orientations; navigating the complexities of generational differences within families; offering services in Spanish, English, and bilingually; honoring indigenous wisdom about wellness; and creating accessible services for community members with diverse abilities.

Mental health assessment and therapy
Substance use disorder assessment and treatment for adults
Substance use disorder assessments for adolescents (adolescent treatment services planned implementation in early 2024)
Psychiatry with medication management
Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) to support people in recovery from addictions
Targeted mental health case management for children and adults
Children’s Therapeutic Services and Supports (CTSS)

Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services (ARMHS)
24/7 Crisis Services (in collaboration with Ramsey and Hennepin County Crisis Services)
Primary care screening and monitoring
Person-centered and family-centered treatment planning
Peer and family support
Services for veterans and members of the armed forces
Care coordination with other providers and systems
Immigration-related assessments
Cultural Broker services

In addition to the mental health and substance use services above, Abriendo Caminos’ participants can be easily connected to CLUES’ broad array of other wellness services, including economic empowerment, educational programming, access to healthy food, health prevention programming, arts and culture programming, survivor advocacy and support, advocacy and community engagement, and youth programs. Abriendo Caminos’ close collaboration with CLUES’ other departments helps to advance the CLUES mission of advancing social and economic equity and wellbeing for Latinos in Minnesota.

Why a CCBHC?

CLUES was founded in 1981 to provide culturally and linguistically relevant social services on the West Side of Saint Paul. Since the very beginning, CLUES’ behavioral health leaders have been committed to keeping services accessible for Latino community members regardless of access to insurance coverage or ability to pay for services. They have also tried to build new programs based on emerging needs in the community. In recent years, the financial realities of standard reimbursement options for mental health and chemical health services caused us to operate the department on very tight margins. The difficulty of fitting our department operations into what insurance companies decide to pay us and the grant funding we can access for participants without insurance limited our ability to create new programs even when the need for them was clear.

After two years of research and comparing clinic models, our department and organizational leadership came to believe the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) model could help us both increase access to services and increase our financial stability. Clinics that become CCBHCs guarantee they will provide integrated behavioral health programs and operate with processes that center care coordination and community empowerment. CLUES’ CCBHC is called Abriendo Caminos (opening pathways).

As an integrated and sustainably-financed model for care delivery, Abriendo Caminos:

Ensures access

Ensures access to integrated, evidence-based substance use disorder and mental health services

Meets stringent criteria

Meets stringent criteria regarding timeline of access, quality reporting, staffing and coordination with social services, criminal justice and education systems.

Receives flexible funding

Receives flexible funding to support the real costs of expanding services to fully meet the need for care in their communities.

Provides opportunities

Provides opportunities for professional development and advancement for Latino behavioral health service providers, ensure that our staff and leadership are reflective of the community we serve.

Mental Health Assessment and Therapy

Mental health therapy supports individuals facing anxiety, stress, depression, or other mental health needs to help them build coping skills and heal from emotional pain or struggles. Our mental health therapists help infants, children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families apply strategies and concepts developed in therapy to help them live happier, healthier lives.

Psychiatry

Psychiatry works with participants already engaged in mental health services at CLUES to alleviate their symptoms through the use of medication, to heal from emotional pain or struggles and to improve emotional and behavioral functioning. Our psychiatrist prescribes medications that can help reduce or eliminate mental health symptoms. This allows participants to better apply strategies and concepts developed in therapy to their lives.

Psychiatric care can address symptoms that may not be addressed in mental health therapy alone. In collaboration with therapy, psychiatry can help individuals experience faster improvement in their mental health symptoms. Our psychiatrist collaborates directly with our other mental health providers to coordinate care.

Substance Use Disorder Treatment

Spanish Outpatient Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Assessment, Treatment and Educational Classes

The SUD (Substance Use Disorder) outpatient treatment program can help individuals understand their addiction and the adverse effects it can have on their lives. Counselors work with participants to improve coping skills for dealing with stress and other problems in their lives without turning to alcohol or drugs.

Individualized Treatment

Participants meet regularly with their counselor and psychotherapist in order to develop treatment goals and monitor progress.

Group Sessions

Group sessions give participants the tools and education needed to achieve a clean and sober lifestyle, while developing a supportive network of individuals who share their goals.

CLUES’ MI/SUD program provides assessment and treatment services to adults. We currently provide assessment services only for adolescents. We are currently accepting referrals.

Targeted Mental Health Case Management

Case Management

Children’s and Adult Mental Health Targeted Case Management services help children and adults with complex mental health needs learn about services and resource options, better understand how systems work and advocate for families with other providers and systems. Case managers work with participants’ other service providers to ensure services are coordinated and integrated well.

Services are available for Ramsey and Hennepin County residents.

CTSS (Children’s Therapeutic Services and Supports) Skills Training

CTSS Skills Training partners with youth ages 5-18 with complex mental health needs, their caregivers, and their therapist to develop effective strategies for managing stress and challenging behaviors in healthy developmentally appropriate ways. Skills Trainers help youth, and their families apply strategies and concepts developed in therapy to other settings. This support helps them progress faster toward their mental health goals.

Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services (ARMHS)

ARMHS providers help adults living with chronic mental health difficulties better manage their mental health symptoms and improve their quality of life. ARMHS participants learn tools they can use every day to manage their daily struggles and feel more connected to others. Services can be completed in their home or in the community.

ARMHS works with individuals 18 years or older, who live in Hennepin or Ramsey County. Participants must be negatively impacted by their mental health symptoms in multiple areas of their life to qualify.

Cultural Brokers

Cultural Broker services are offered at CLUES in partnership with M Health Fairview. Cultural Brokers help participants increase their community connections, address social determinants of health, and access needed resources. Cultural Broker services are designed to be low-barrier and participant-led. Cultural Brokers can work with any Latino- or Hispanic-identifying community member who “lives, works, plays, prays, eats, or seeks services” on the East Side of St. Paul or in South Minneapolis, regardless of insurance coverage. M Health Fairview staff offer Cultural Broker services to Native American, Hmong, Karen, and African-American community members at other nonprofit host sites.

Immigration-Related Assessments

CLUES mental health therapists provide assessments for immigration-related cases including U-Visa applications, hardship applications and asylum applications. These assessments provide evidence of the mental health impact of these particular immigration situations and normally result in a letter of support for the client’s application.

CLUES can also provide assessment and documentation for the Medical Certification of Disability Exception, resulting in a N-648 form that exempts a person from having to take the U.S. Citizenship Exam in order to become a citizen. This exception is for individuals with problems related to concentration and memory resulting from of a number of factors such as cognitive issues, trauma/mental health symptoms, or lack of formal education/literacy.

CLUES is not able to bill insurance for these evaluations. Please inquire at Mental Health Intake about the fee for these evaluations.

Behavioral Health Education and Presentation Opportunities

CLUES mental health providers offer education and presentations on behavioral health topics with a focus on Latino and immigrant communities. Topics include presentations on trauma, resilience, cultural identity, mental health conditions, chemical health conditions, prevention of mental health/chemical health conditions, secondary/vicarious trauma, and coping strategies, among other topics by request. Presentations are provided in English or Spanish, in person or virtually.

These presentations raise awareness about the above-mentioned topics to help participants live healthier lives, or to help providers deliver more culturally responsive services. Contact CLUES to inquire about training and education.

Crisis Services

CLUES partners with county mobile crisis services and state crisis lines to help community members manage mental health crisis.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get an appointment?

Community members can call our Behavioral Health Intake team to request their first appointment.

What Services Could be Right for Me?

If you know you want help but aren’t sure where to start, our Behavioral Health Intake workers will talk with you about your needs and situation, and help you determine which program(s) would be a good fit.

Can my child be seen at CLUES?

Yes. We have clinicians trained in therapy models that are appropriate for infants, children, and adolescents. For our youngest clients – those birth-age 5 – caregivers attend and actively participate in therapy alongside their child.

Adolescents can have their substance use assessed by CLUES staff. They will then be referred to as an appropriate resource in the community for substance use disorder treatment if needed.

Can I be turned away from services?

We do not turn community members away for any of the following reasons.

CLUES Non- Discriminatory Policy

CLUES will not discriminate in the provision of behavioral health services to an individual:

The individual is unable to pay for behavioral health services.
The payment for those services would be made under Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP); or
Based on the individual’s race, color, sex, age, national origin, immigration status, disability, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation

Click to make Payment

How do I pay for services?

CLUES accepts the following insurance plans: Medicare, Medicaid, Medical Assistance (asistencia medica), Hennepin Health, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Health Partners, Cigna, UCare, Optum, Medica, United Behavioral Health (UBH), and United Healthcare (UHC).

You can pay online here

For billing questions, please call our billing specialist: Kelia Euteneuer (habla español) at 612-746-3574.

What if I don’t qualify for insurance?

CLUES works with funders such as Crime Victims Reparations Board and Consolidated Funding for MI/SUD Services.

CLUES also offers a sliding fee discount for eligible services to clients who have low incomes, are uninsured, underinsured, and cannot afford the cost of services. CLUES also offers flexible payment plan options for clients.

CLICK HERE FOR SLIDING FEES

We Want to Hear from You!

We ask clients who participated in any of CLUES' behavioral health programs within the last year to complete one of our surveys. Answers are confidential, and responses are used to improve our services.

Intake and Referrals

To set up an intake appointment, contact our Mental Health Intake Specialists at MHintake@clues.org, or call 612-404-2600.

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Abriendo Caminos Wellness and Prevention Center