Our History
The Guidance Center originated as the Atchison Child Guidance Clinic in 1937 in Atchison County, Kansas. In response to nationwide changes in mental health care, The Guidance Center joined forces with Leavenworth County in 1964. A community mental health center was created, providing outpatient therapy and psychiatry services to individuals and families from Atchison and Leavenworth Counties regardless of their ability to pay. The Center provided these services in two clinics located in the cities of Atchison and Leavenworth. Ten years later, a third clinic was added in the city of Oskaloosa to serve Jefferson County.
In the 1990's, new approaches to mental health care for adults and children with more serious mental illness contributed to the need to open a fourth facility. The Community Support Services facility, also located in the city of Leavenworth, is the home of more intensive services designed to meet the specialized needs of these individuals. While the three outpatient therapy clinics provide services to the residents of their respective counties, this facility provides services to residents from our entire catchment area.
The Guidance Center now serves nearly 3,000 clients annually with comprehensive mental health services. Programs and services now include:
- Outpatient services, including individual, group, and family therapy
- Psychiatry services, including medication education, prescription, and maintenance
- Specialized services for adults with serious mental illness and for youth with serious emotional disturbance, including daily group educational and social activities and instruction on the skills and knowledge needed to maintain successful community living
- Emergency services, including 24-hour crisis hotline and a daily walk-in crisis clinic
- Substance abuse recovery services, including education and individual and group therapy
- Prevention and education services, including substance abuse prevention for youth, sexual abuse awareness and prevention, and mental health education for the community
In 1991, the Kansas Legislature enacted several laws which changed the way local community mental centers operated. At that time, community mental health centers were legally designated to manage public community mental health care in Kansas. By 1998, 600 Kansas state hospital beds were closed, leaving The Guidance Center with the responsibility for providing programs and services for Atchison, Jefferson, and Leavenworth County residents who might otherwise have been confined to those institutions. As a result, children with serious emotional disturbance are now able to live with their own families in their own community, and adults with serious mental illness are able to remain in contact with their established community supports, actively participating in social and recreational activities and experiencing the joy of living or working independently. As a non-governmental not-for-profit agency, we can more effectively and efficiently meet the needs of our clients.