New clinic offers relief to Oak Cliff

With a shortage in qualified psychologists in Oak Cliff, one organization has taken charge to offer hope.

Photo by Lena Dirbashi

Carol Lucky, CEO of the Child & Family Guidance Center, and Andy Wolfskill, COO, eagerly anticipate the impact the clinic can make on the community.

OAK CLIFF — Last year, more than 10,000 individuals who had no other access to essential mental health services turned to one of the clinics operated by Child & Family Guidance Center, a non-profit corporation serving families impacted by mental illness. On Monday, the center opened its fourth clinic, The Stephen J. McManus Family Mental Health Clinic, in Oak Cliff.

“This place needed us,” said Carol Lucky, CEO of Child & Family Guidance Center.

Child-adolescents psychiatry is in short supply in Dallas, Lucky said. “There are a few adult psychiatry clinics, but those are scary,” she said. “It is not a place a child can go.”

Unlike the other three clinics, located near Harry Hines, in Mesquite, and in Plano, The McManus Clinic responds specifically to the shortage and offers full-time, comprehensive outpatient mental health services with a focus on children and adolescents. It will also offer a safety-net program that matches counselors with high-risk students. Classes are also offered for parents in conjunction with Child Protective Services in the evenings.

Photo by Lena Dirbashi

Here's the waiting room where patients (mostly children) will be called in by one of Dallas-Fort Worth's few psychiatrists specializing in children.

Clinical services are for emotionally disturbed kids between the ages of 4 and 18 diagnosed with illnesses like attention deficiency disorder (ADD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), bipolar disorder, and depression. Adult relatives are often seen too because mental illness usually runs in the family, Lucky said.

Two psychiatrists, four licensed therapists, and several clinicians will be on-site full time during the day, while classes required for parents violating legal codes enforced by Child Protective Services will be offered in the evenings. Multiple services will combine medical treatment and therapy; there will also be on-site telemedicine, which allows physicians to consult and diagnose symptoms through the phone, computer, or television.

Photo by Lena Dirbashi

Carol Lucky and Andy Wolfskill are confident that the Stephen J. McManus Family Mental Health Clinic in Oak Cliff will be a great addition to the community.

Andy Wolfskill, chief operating officer of the center, said these types of services are important for illnesses that can take up to a lifetime to treat.

“Our goal is to keep people out of the hospital,” he said.

In order to provide their services at a low cost, Child & Family Guidance Center operates with donations from more than 460 organizations like United Way.

The Child & Family Guidance Center was established in 1896 and for over 113 years has a strong tradition of opening its doors to anyone. “We never say no to anyone,” Wolfskill said.