When Louise suffered a stroke at age 63, her husband, Al, tried to care for her himself. However, Louise was confined to a wheelchair and her recovery was slow. Al became frustrated with the many responsibilities and the amount of work he now had to perform alone. He confided to their family doctor that he was becoming increasingly depressed and needed assistance. His doctor referred Al and Louise to the Center’s Homebound program.

Joan, a 52 year old woman, was referred to Homebound by her internist. During the previous six months, she had experienced recurrent attacks of extreme anxiety coupled with symptoms of agoraphobia. For five months, Homebound counselors visited Joan at her home. Eventually, she was able to visit the Homebound facility for additional therapy and group sessions.

Who Seeks Help from the Homebound Program

The program provides mental health services to people like Louise, Al, and Joan who, because of disabilities, are not able to come to the Homebound facility. Such mental health care is provided through home visits by Homebound counselors.

What Services Are Provided by Homebound

The primary service of the Homebound program is to provide mental health care through home visits to clients who are unable to visit the program facility. However, in addition to home mental health treatment, several groups are offered at the Homebound program facility. These include anxiety reaction and agoraphobic groups, depression groups, and groups which address the problems of clients who are physically disabled.

Additional services include individual therapy, prescriptions, and medication monitoring.

The Homebound program also recruits and trains interns from local universities.

How The Homebound Program Can Help

The Homebound program specializes in services to the senior community. Its staff of mental health care professionals includes licensed clinical social workers; licensed marriage, family, and child counselors; clinical psychologists and psychiatrists.

The clients work with their therapists to achieve independent living and coping skills. They may remain in the Homebound program for as long as treatment is necessary for them to achieve their goals and improve their quality of life.

HOMEBOUND

San Fernando Valley Community Mental Health Center, Inc.