Children’s Services in Central Pennsylvania
At TrueNorth Wellness Services, we provide compassionate and comprehensive children’s mental health services to support kids, teens, and their families across Central Pennsylvania. Our programs are designed to help children build resilience, improve emotional well-being, and develop the skills they need to thrive at home, in school, and in the community.
From family-based mental health counseling and functional family therapy to intensive behavioral health services and school-based outpatient therapy, we are committed to offering personalized care that meets each child’s unique needs. By partnering with families, schools, and community resources, TrueNorth Wellness Services ensures that children receive the proper support to grow, heal, and succeed.
Amazing Kids Club (AKC)
The Amazing Kids Club is a year-round therapeutic group program designed for children and adolescents ages 2 to 20 with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Social Pragmatic Communication Disorder. Unlike intensive one-on-one therapy, this on-site program provides a supportive group setting where children can build essential skills in communication, socialization, and play.
Our approach combines proven behavioral therapy techniques with relationship-based strategies, fostering a balanced environment that promotes growth and learning. Each child receives a personalized treatment plan, designed by our highly trained master’s-level clinicians, to match their unique developmental needs. Family participation and service coordination are central to the program, ensuring consistent support at home, school, and within the community.
Children and adolescents who attend the Amazing Kids Club must be behaviorally ready to participate safely, maintain the specific group ratio, and demonstrate an initial capacity for developing and applying improved social interaction skills in a group setting.
We offer Pre-School and After-School sessions, as well as an 11-week specialized therapeutic summer day program. Currently, this program serves only families located in York and Adams counties, Pennsylvania. The Amazing Kids club does not provide transportation to our centers, but can offer suggestions for community-based transportation options upon request.
Autism Diagnostic Clinic (ADC)
The Autism Diagnostic Clinic (ADC) is a model developed to provide access to autism diagnostic evaluations for young children, as well as resources and support for caregivers. All services are provided virtually. This maximizes access by eliminating travel-related issues. The model has proven to have high diagnostic accuracy because children are evaluated in their natural environments.
TrueNorth’s ADC is currently available in York and Adams Counties. To be eligible for the
service, toddlers must be between 18 and 36 months old, not having yet reached their 3rd birthday. Screening requirements must also be met, which look for signs of developmental and neurodiverse conditions of the referred toddler.
There is no cost for eligible toddlers and their families to receive ADC services. Funding
is provided through a grant with PA’s Department of Health grant, as well as through private medical insurance and/or Medicaid.
Family-Based Mental Health Services
TrueNorth Wellness Services believes that children grow up best in their own homes. That is why our Family-Based Mental Health Services (FBMHS) provide short-term, intensive, community-based counseling to families with children or adolescents who are at risk for removal from the home due to severe emotional or behavioral problems. FBMHS also assists families in transitioning children and adolescents who were already removed back into the home.
FBMHS are provided directly in the home (may involve two to four visits a week, depending on the need) by a team of trained mental health professionals and may involve different family members at various times. The program combines counseling, case management, and family support services. We recognize that children and families are not isolated but are part of a complex network of school, friends, and community. All services are coordinated for those families involved with other systems (e.g., special education, children and youth, drug and alcohol, juvenile justice).
Counties served: Adams, York.
Functional Family Therapy (FFT)
Providing services for children and adolescents ages 10-18. This evidence-based program helps families understand the importance of communication and commitment, learn healthy coping and problem-solving strategies, and decrease risk to enhance protective factors contributing to success in the home, school, and community.
Counties served: Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry, York.
Intensive Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) – Individual & ABA
Intensive Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) support children and their families by providing intensive services in the home, school, and community settings as necessary. This program focuses on stabilizing symptoms and behaviors and transferring skills to the child’s natural support system. Applied Behavior Analysis uses motivation in the form of reinforcement to teach new skills and promote behavior change. ABA therapy helps children learn coping, social, and life skills, and build functional communication skills, while transferring these skills to the client and caregivers.
Counties served (Applied Behavior Analysis): Cumberland, Dauphin, and Perry.
Counties served (Individual Services): Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Perry, and York.
School-Based Outpatient Therapy Services
School-Based Therapy Services include programs that offer students in multiple school districts within Central PA an opportunity to meet with therapists either on an outpatient basis, where students have weekly appointments in an office setting, or on a more integrated basis, where the therapist works as part of a therapeutic emotional support or autism support classroom. Group therapy, individual therapy, and behavioral support are provided regularly throughout the school year.
Counties served: Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, and York.
