Topher is a member of the Nebraska Association of Behavioral Health Organizations, has served on the Executive Committee for many years, and has been elected to three terms as President. Topher was a Board member of the National Council for Behavioral Health from 2013-2016, and has been on the Audit Committee of the National Council Board since 2016.
He holds a Bachelors and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Nebraska and practiced law in Lincoln for eight years before joining CenterPointe.
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He has also co-authored a text on Professional Ethics and has been an instructor for the Professional Ethics course for Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors since 1997.
Topher Hansen reported that CenterPointe is where people (individuals, and families) can come to get help dealing with mental illness, substance use disorders, and homelessness. CenterPointe has two locations, one here in Lincoln, NE and the other is located in Omaha, NE.
CenterPointe offers a broad continuum of care with more than 37 programs in the areas of crisis response, treatment, rehabilitation, housing, and peer support. At CenterPointe you will find no wrong door to walk through to start your journey of recovery. They encourage people to develop a Wellness Recovery Action Plan, to explore a personal spiritual path, and utilize a 12-step program if those that come to CenterPointe find it helpful in their ongoing support toward recovery.
CenterPointe uses a harm reduction model which guides them away from moral judgments and toward the empowerment of people to discover their own healthy path toward recovery. CenterPointe is a Region V and Region VI provider. They can provide services on a sliding fee scale for income-qualified people, but they also accept Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance.
The tools for recovery are really within the individual. Some of their programs are:
Co-occurring Residential Treatment, Touchstone Short-Term Residential Treatment, Outpatient Treatment, P.I.E.R – Assertive Community Treatment, and Intensive Outpatient for Adolescents which are offered in Lincoln, NE.
Co-occurring Residential Treatment is an in-depth treatment experience designed to help the individual to understand how their mental illness and addiction interact with each other. This program offers transitional housing and co-occurring treatment for adults 19 and over. People that are admitted to this program are experiencing homelessness, severe and persistent mental illness, and substance dependence.
This program includes individual, group, and family counseling; psychiatric care, nursing care, recreational therapy, nutritional services, mental health, substance use, wellness, and life skills education, and care management. They also have a short-term residential program which is Touchstone for men and women that are 19 and over who are experiencing these same health problems except homelessness.
Outpatient Treatment is therapy services which includes individual, group and family counseling, psychiatric services, and medication management. In this program CenterPointe uses an inclusive, holistic approach. Many of the clinicians in this program are dually-licensed.
P.I.E.R. – Assertive Community Treatment is for people living with severe, persistent mental illness (SPMI) to find treatment, rehabilitation, and support in the Partnership in Empowerment and Recovery program. Those in the P.I.E.R. program receive a full range of intensive treatment and rehabilitative services including therapy, medication management, and more in their home or other community setting; they work toward a life not dominated by their mental health disorder; they may experience a reduced need for hospitalizations and/or fewer issues with the justice system; and they are empowered by living as independently as possible in the community.
DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) – Intensive Outpatient Program for Adolescents is a comprehensive, evidence-based cognitive behavioral treatment focused on problem solving and acceptance-based strategies. Those that benefit from this program are adolescents (ages 13-18). These adolescents usually have the following problems: Suicidal thoughts and/or behaviors; self-harm behaviors (e.g. cutting); significant decrease in functioning at school and/or at home; severe symptoms of anxiety and/or depression; significant difficulty regulating emotions; and individuals engaging in substance use.
The goals for someone with DBT is to reduce suicidal thoughts and behaviors; reduce self-harm behaviors; improve ability to regulate emotions and cope with stress, improve important areas of life such as school, home, friendships and family relationships, reduce the need for higher level of care, reduce/eliminate substance use and to help learn skills to build a life worth living.
Topher mentioned that since COVID-19 no one in his staff or clients tested positive which is great. Last year they served approximately 3,200 people. Since COVID-19 they have probably seen about 600 individuals within a week, compared to about 750 when we did not have a COVID-19 outbreak.
CenterPointe just recently received a Federal Grant which will help them to enhance their services. They hope to have a new outpatient clinic and more housing in about two years here in Lincoln.