It’s been only six months but the staff at Juvenile Services is already noticing the benefits of a contract with a local professional facilitator, said Marissa Woodmansee, JS executive director.

The contract is with Charity Muth, owner of Stepping Stones to Recovery, who focuses on cognitive behavioral theory (CBT) when interacting with JS clients.

“We are seeing positive behavioral changes first-hand,” Woodmansee said. “Charity provides the best opportunity for directly engaging with young people who need the type of guidance she offers.

“Charity builds a great rapport with kids and the feedback thus far has been encouraging. We are so fortunate to have a local professional who specializes in this type of service.”

In addition to the one-on-one interaction, Muth provides JS with detailed progress reports and keeps the lines of communication open.

“The contract also provides fiscal responsibility, which is important in consideration of possible future funding cuts,” Woodmansee noted.

Muth’s services are supported by the Juvenile Justice Evidence-Based Program grant from the Kansas Department of Corrections, which requires JS to offer varied program hours to clients.

Charity Muth

One of Muth’s main tools when focusing on CBT is a series of workbooks in a curriculum from the Change Companies.

“CBT is based on the premise that our thoughts, beliefs and behaviors are interconnected,” Muth noted. “When we face a negative event, our automatic thoughts can often be distorted, leading to negative emotions and behaviors.

“These workbooks, which offer the client an opportunity to journal, help us get to the thinking behind the thinking. They also give me information about the young person’s backstory through their eyes.”

A few goals of CBT are to: identify and challenge negative thoughts; replace them with realistic and positive thoughts; develop coping mechanisms to deal with difficulties; and change maladaptive behaviors.

“All behaviors are rooted in a belief system, which is created by your experiences,” Muth summarized. “Every behavior has a purpose; feelings don’t just pop up out of nowhere. CBT can provide the ability to gain perspective.”

Some of the workbook titles are: Why Am I Here?; My Feelings; My Family; Relationships & Communication Skills; How We Think; How We Change; Building Strong Values; and Moving Forward.

Muth is well aware that a teenager often isn’t happy about interacting with her on day one. “Fight or flight sets in. It takes a buy-in from the client. We have to remember that there are a lot of influences writing on the chalkboard of a young person’s life.

“CBT may not be suitable for everyone; sometimes guidance from a mental-health professional is recommended,” she added.

Some JS clients are on diversion for several months, and others are on probation for at least a year. If substance-use disorder is involved, Muth refers clients to The Center for Counseling & Consultation or other entity.

She earned a master’s degree in community counseling in 2009 at Fort Hays State University and has “focused on CBT ever since. It is evidence-based, seamless and relatively inexpensive.”

JS partnership

“Juvenile Services does a great job,” Muth emphasized. “They are an easy team to work with, open to discussion and quick to respond to questions. Since both of us serve similar populations, there is flexibility and good back-and-forth communications.

“The staff at Juvenile Services goes the extra mile to support kids and their families, and they are always available. In a lot of cases, staff members are the first adults that a lot of these kids ever trust. No youth will ever forget them in terms of how they were treated and how they felt.”

20th Judicial District Juvenile Services empowers youth in Barton, Rice, Ellsworth, Stafford and Russell counties to achieve positive outcomes by offering Juvenile Intake & Assessment, Immediate Intervention, Intensive Supervised Probation, Case

Management, Journey to Change, Life Skills, All Stars and Youth Crew. Parents and guardians also are offered The Parent Project. Visit 1800 12th in Great Bend or call 620-793-1930.