11/07
Bethesda Family Services Foundation, lead by Founder and President,
Dominic Herbst and Executive Director, Max Harrison, has recently
entered into a partnership with the nationally-recognized
organization, Eckerd Youth
Alternatives. Founded by philanthropists Jack and Ruth
Eckerd, Eckerd Youth Alternatives
(EYA) is one of the nation’s leading providers of services
for troubled youth. As a private not-for-profit organization, EYA serves nearly 10,000
children each year. Since 1968, more than 70,000 young people have
been helped through a range of program models in more than 40
locations in nine states: Florida, North Carolina, Georgia,
Tennessee, Louisiana, Ohio, Vermont, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.
EYA has contracted for
training in our Relational Healing and Peer Governance Models for
their Ohio Girls Challenge
Program and three programs in Florida - the Youth
Development Center and
Intensive Halfway House in Okeechobee, and the Leadership Program, Ft.
Pierce, Florida. Herbst and Harrison have traveled to Ohio and
Florida to train the staff of these four programs in Bethesda’s
unique model of emotional healing and family reconciliation. David
Dennis, President and CEO of EYA,
believes that the Bethesda Model will help the agency achieve its
goal of “improving the future, one child at a time.”
9/07
Bethesda Family Services Foundation received an award of $500,000
from the National Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention (OJJDP). It is one of the largest single awards given to
a Pennsylvania program from the United States Department of Justice.
Dominic Herbst, Founder and President, has made several
presentations to Administrator Robert Flores and his staff over the
last two years and his office has high regard for the Relational
Healing Model created by Herbst.
Bethesda Family Services Foundation (Bethesda) was formed to heal
the hearts and change the lives of troubled individuals and
distressed families. In an effort to achieve their mission,
they work to replicate their model by disseminating their treatment
methods to other program providers. The grant funds will allow
other agencies to commit to a full three-year contract with
Bethesda, which would provide for training, consultation, technical
assistance and certification of their programs. Those agencies
committed to this project include: foster care, mentoring,
residential treatment programs, community-based nonresidential
programs, and adult prisons.
The Bethesda approach expands the knowledge base of other
providers as well as the clients and family members affiliated with
those programs by training staff and certifying programs in
Bethesda’s two systems – Relational Healing counseling and Peer
Governance behavior management. This addresses the root causes
and risk factors associated with juvenile delinquency and supports
positive youth development at the same time, which can truly enhance
the juvenile justice system overall.
Detailed manuals, supplemented by video trainings and weekly
consultations with Bethesda trainers are provided on an ongoing
basis. Additionally, unique learning opportunities are
presented through hands-on trainings. These sessions expedite
the learning process for trainees as well as participants. The
training team missions are lead by Herbst and Executive Director,
Max Harrison.
By training these models over a broad spectrum of caregivers
throughout the nation, Bethesda hopes to bring healing,
reconciliation, and restoration to thousands of clients and their
families. Over 50,000 lives have been impacted thus far by the
Foundation’s initiatives. This is Bethesda’s third grant from OJJDP.
5/07
An article featuring Founder & President Dominic Herbst’s
curriculum, Restoring Relationships, was published in The Correctional Trainer, an
official publication of the International Association of
Correctional Training Personnel. The article,
“Rehabilitating Through
Restoring Relationships: A Summary of this Healing
Curriculum,” provides an overview of how this Model
helps adults and children heal emotional wounds caused by those who
have offended or betrayed them, the topic on which Herbst presented
at theIACTP’s conference
in Atlanta, GA last fall.
5/07
Bethesda Family Services Foundation receives praise from the
North
Carolina Governor's Crime Commission. Durham County's A New
Day Program has seen a significant decline in troubling behaviors
like violence and drug abuse, increased school attendance and
greater academic performance due to Bethesda's cost effective
therapeutic model.
7/06 Excerpted from News
From Rainmaker Consulting & Development
by Gina Crocetti Benesh
In this issue I share with you how one of our South Puget Sound
nonprofits, Faith Homes, is quickly and effectively turning around
the effects of horrible experiences for teen girls through a 4 step
model: identifying, understanding, confronting, and forgiving.
I hope you enjoy Kennetha's story
5/06 Anger, rage and
healing
Published: 05/10/2006 on www.corrections.com by Sara Etter
Tucked away in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Mountains, Allenwood
Penitentiary inmates are using group therapy sessions to learn when they
are angry and when they filled with rage with the help of the Bethesda
Family Services Foundation. The foundation provides therapeutic services
to inmates nationwide as part of a pre-release program that helps
offenders prepare for their return home.
4/26/05 FAITH HOMESReports
Update on Relational Healing Last year we reported that Faith Homes had taken the big step to
commit to a three year process to implement a new therapeutic model
called Relational Healing. Relational Healing takes
participants through a process of healing based on the following
four steps: Admission and Grieving:
The first step toward victory and healing, after a primary
relationship has broken down, is admission and grieving. As
pain is poured out, healing begins to pour in. "The rain of
grieving will quench the first of rage."
Confrontation and Disclosure: The victim is now
ready to confront his painful past and the offender(s) who
contributed to it. The process begins with a series of
assignments which are set forth in letter form by the victim to his
parent(s) and/or offender(s). When these written memories are
applied, the result is truly life-changing for the participant.
The final stage of confrontation and disclosure requires the victim
to take accountability for his offenses of retaliation toward his
own victim(s). This allows for complete restoration.
Forgiveness and Reconciliation: This third stage
requires a purposeful decision on the part of the victim to let go
of the bitterness and rage that previously owned him. He is
not surrendering to the offender, but rather the bitterness he feels
toward the offender. The choice to forgive is always
difficult, but only this decision will bring emotional healing to
the victim and those around him.
Restoration and Healing: After the victim has
progressed through each of the three previous steps to healing, he
is now at peace with his past and able to regulate his emotions.
He must then make a contractual commitment to release his
offender(s) and move forward toward rebuilding his current
relationships. This results in emotional and relational
healing. Only then is he able to develop healthy and lasting
relationships.
In the past year we have learned just how powerful Relational
Healing can be. We have seen families reconnected after years
of no contact. We have seen teens truly grieve over the pain
they were caused by those who were supposed to love and protect them
the most and we have seen parents acknowledge that they too were
severely hurt when they were children. While the premise has
been simple, the results have been profound.
I'm pleased to say that after a year of working to truly understand
the power of the model, Faith Homes will become Certified as a
practitioner of Relational Healing in May. The certification
will signify that Faith Homes staff have demonstrated proficiency in
understanding and applying the model. It will also indicate
that Faith Homes' clients have an understanding of the model and how
it applies to their lives and healing.
By Ken Maaz, Executive Director, Faith Homes
Excerpted from Homefronts Newsletter
(Faith Homes Relational Healing Certification Review is scheduled
for May 8 & 9, 2005.)
9/2005
SONRISE HOUSE Company announces a newly released publication
authored by Dominic Herbst entitled, “Restoring Relationships”. This
is published in a 72-page Journal format.
One of the greatest needs in the Church today is the need for
healing the wounds that many Christians have from broken
relationships in their lives. The symptoms from these wounds
manifest in their walk with Christ and keep their growth and
discipleship from maturing beyond the emotional pain that binds
their wounded hearts. This can lead to discord in the Body of Christ
and paralysis in church growth by subtly undermining many church
ministries.
The “Restoring Relationships Resource Manual” can be purchased to
accompany each pack of 25 journals. This provides the teacher/
leader/ facilitator with additional Biblical content and insight.
This manual provides a 12 session format for the journey to healing.
It focuses upon the “Ministry of Reconciliation” that was given to
us through Christ in 2 Corinthians 5:18. The Manual is coordinated
with the Journal. It contains Application of Truth questions at the
end of each session to allow the facilitator to supplement the
journal application as participants disclose in the fellowship group
or privately with an accountability partner.
Pastoral and lay-leadership training is also available for further
discipleship in this heart based ministry. The Scriptures remind us
that, “…man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh
on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7b)”. The Lord’s focus should be our focus
as we make it our mission to heal the hearts and change the lives of
those entrusted to our care.
Please review the enclosed order form to determine your curriculum
and training needs for this new heart-based curriculum as you
endeavor to minister to your church at the point of greatest need in
the years ahead.
9/2005 10th Anniversary (pdf)
Bethesda Family Services Foundation is celebrating its 10th
anniversary. Founded in 1995 by President Dominic Herbst, the
nonprofit agency has become a national leader in youth and family
treatment and all areas of corrections by establishing contracts
with programs across the country to train them in the Foundation’s
Relational Healing and Peer Governance Models. The flagship
corporation, Bethesda Day Treatment Center, operates throughout
Pennsylvania with nine treatment facilities, one residential group
home, and an administrative office, serving 23 counties and over 60
school districts. Using these same models, Bethesda Day Treatment
Center, founded in 1983 also by Herbst and managed by the
corporation’s president, Jerilyn Keen, has demonstrated success as a
national model for over 20 years.
The Bethesda models are unique in that they focus upon the source of
rage in those exhibiting criminal and antisocial behaviors. These
proven models have produced promising results in those youth with
behavior patterns that have been out of control for years. The
models are simple in method yet profound in impact which enhances
the ability of Bethesda trainers to equip other counselors to
successfully apply the principles in their programs. As stated by
Renay Crouse, Executive Vice President of The Bair Foundation, a
national foster care agency, “On all counts the Bethesda team has
exceeded our expectations for professionalism, knowledge, and
integrity. Since the (Bethesda) model was introduced at The Bair
Foundation, we have documented a decrease in restraints and internal
moves of children due to behavior.”
The Bethesda Foundation also provides parenting and family healing
services in 18 PA State prisons and 6 federal prisons (3 outside
PA). Bethesda’s parenting program goes beyond skills and basic
educational training. “The breadth and depth of the program is best
described as challenging! The curriculum requires active
participation in the form of written review of their impacting life
experiences and opportunities to mend and reestablish
relationships,” wrote J. Harvey Bell, Pardons Case Specialist/Family
Services, PA Department of Corrections, in a letter to Bethesda.
The Foundation has operated a 12-bed girls group home in Tulsa,
Oklahoma for five years. Recently, a report from the Oklahoma Office
of Juvenile Affairs showed that the Bethesda Group Home had the
lowest recidivism rate in the state. Bethesda’s 5.3% recidivism rate
compared to an average rate of 22.8% in programs of the same level
is an amazing achievement.
Lead by Founder and President Dominic Herbst, M.S., M.A., and
Executive Director Max Harrison, M.S., M.A., the Bethesda Foundation
has grown and achieved a number of successes over the past ten
years. The Bethesda Model has been featured on four national
television documentaries, has won a number of awards and has been
the topic of several national magazine, journal and almanac
articles. The agency is an authorized provider of continuing
education units/hours by a number of authorizing entities including
the International Association of Continuing Education and Training (IACET)
and the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC). Currently
being utilized in 13 states across the country, the Bethesda
programs are touching over 16,000 lives per year. Sonrise House
Publishers is currently publishing a new tool developed by Herbst –
Restoring Relationships: Healing for the Brokenhearted, which is a
self-guided workbook leading individuals and groups to relational
healing, and will be followed by a detailed resource manual.
The Bethesda staff would like to thank the Board of Directors for
their active support and guidance throughout the years: Robert
Reich, Chairperson, John Carpenter, Vice Chair, Fred Kelly, Acting
Treasurer, Jerilyn Keen, George Nagle, and Mary Wetzel. Bethesda
Family Services Foundation has several goals for the future, which
include providing training and services internationally. The agency
will continue to pursue these endeavors while focusing on their
mission of “healing hearts and changing lives.”
5/2005 Faith Homes Adopts New
Therapeutic Focus
When I first came to Faith Homes I knew right away we needed a new
therapeutic focus…but which one. There were many to choose from and
many professed to be good, and probably were. So, I asked our case
managers and clinical consultant to look at as many best practice
models as they could to find the right one for Faith Homes. I
recommended a few well known ones and anticipated they would come
back with a choice from that list or a plan to blend together the
best parts of several of them. They did neither of those things.
To my surprise the recommendation was something called Relational
Healing developed by the Bethesda Family Services Foundation out of
Pennsylvania. After hearing their reasoning I had to agree. This
seemed like the model for us. But, before we made the final
decision, a few staff and I made a trip to Orlando, Florida (thanks
to a few board members who paid for the trip) to visit two programs
operated by the Devereaux Foundation to see the model in action, to
talk to kids who had experienced it and to hear from staff who were
using it whether or not it worked. We were sold. The only problem
was we couldn’t afford the cost of the training. Even so, we didn’t
want to give up on this model – we knew it was right for our clients
and we knew it would be foolish to adopt something else just because
it was cheaper. After waiting almost two years, we are finally in
the process of implementing the Relational Healing model. Thanks to
a grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention provided to Bethesda to cut the cost of training by half
and the willingness of the Board and staff to forgo some other
projects, we were able to make the three year commitment to become
certified as a provider of the Relational Healing therapeutic model.
A truly exciting time for Faith Homes began February 2nd and 3rd
when all Faith Homes staff began the training and implementation
process. A process we are all dedicated to. As they say it is simple
in method, but profound in impact. In the early stages of our
experience with Relational Healing we have been amazed at what is
has meant to each of us personally and as counselors and we are
thrilled at the response from our clients. They relish the
opportunity to be heard, sometimes for the first time, and to have
their pain validated. Even more important they are excited about the
opportunity to move on with their lives free from the hurt and rage
they have carried for so long.
This time next year I hope to be able to report to you about the
many successes we have had thanks to our new therapeutic focus.
Ken Maaz
Executive Director
Faith Homes
2/2/04 Bethesda Family Services Foundation
receives grant
As published in The Daily Item
West Milton—Bethesda Family Services Foundation has been awarded
a grant from the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention. The $180,000 grant will provide other programs across
the country with training, consultation, technical assistance, and
certification.
The funds will offset the costs associated with
the training, based on each agency's needs and program size. In
an effort to achieve its mission of "healing hearts and changing
lives," Bethesda partners with other organizations and trains
their staff to counsel the most challenging youth in the country.
The award came after Bethesda Founder and President
Dominic Herbst visited OJJDP in Washington, D.C. Herbst discussed
with OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores and Deputy Administrator
William Woodruff specific components of Bethesda's therapeutic intervention
model and strategies for its greater application across America.
Deputy Administrator Woodruff suggested that Bethesda apply for
funding through the OJJDP Discretionary Continuation Programs.
This award will allow six agencies to receive
training in the Bethesda model and directly impact the lives of
thousands of hurting youth and families. Targeted programs include
The Place of Hope in West Palm Beach, Florida; Faith Homes in Tacoma,
Washington; numerous day reporting centers throughout Northern Carolina;
and select private providers in Texas and Oklahoma.
For more information on Bethesda Family Services Foundation,
feel free to e-mail us
today or call (570) 523-0605.
