Our overarching approach is the Good Lives Model. 

Other clinical approaches used include Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), the Skills System Model developed by Julie F. Brown, Trauma-Informed Care (TIC), Motivational Interviewing, and the Fire-setting Intervention Program for Mentally Disordered Offenders (FIP-MO).  We measure client wellbeing and the therapeutic alliances with our individuals using Feedback-Informed Treatment (FIT).  Two of our Clinicians are also EMDR trained.  

Each program has an embedded Clinician. 

These Clinicians provide individual and group therapy and develops and maintains a behavioral support plan.  These support plans are a critical tool to assist the individuals in making progress.  The Clinician also trains the Direct Support Professionals and Team Leaders not only in the behavior plans, but the treatment approaches, groups and assisting with daily clinical homework assignments as well.   Under the direction of our clinical team, Team Leaders lead daily staff facilitated clinical skills groups.  These group sessions and individual assignments are guided by individual client needs aimed at providing them instruction and practice related to their skill development which include self-regulation skills, coping skills, relaxation skills, interpersonal skills, independence, self-efficacy, and anger management.  These groups and exercises also assist clients in improving their communication skills in order to enjoy healthy and productive relationships with others.  Some groups also incorporate alternative to talk therapy such as art, drama, music, and movement therapy.

Clinical Services for Area Agencies,

Funding Sources and General Public

A mental health practitioner with 36 years in the field, David Prescott is the Clinical Director of the Next Steps ITS programs. He is the author and editor of 20 books in the areas of understanding and improving services to at-risk clients and has produced numerous articles, chapters, and studies in these areas. He is the Publisher of The New Circle magazine, which helps professionals who work with at-risk children and teens, and Co-Blogger for the scholarly journal Sexual Abuse.

Mr. Prescott is best known for his work in the areas of understanding, assessing, and treating sexual violence and trauma. He has produced a number of books on the Good Lives Model, and a fidelity monitoring measure that he developed with Gwenda Willis is current in press.

Mr. Prescott is the recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Contribution Award from the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) and the 2018 recipient of the National Adolescent Perpetration Network’s (NAPN) C. Henry Kempe Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Mr. Prescott regularly lectures and provides training around the world. His publications have been translated into several foreign languages, including Korean, Japanese, German, French, and Polish. He currently provides ongoing consultation to programs in locations around the US and Scandinavia. His trainings typically focus on the development of professional excellence.

Mr. Prescott is one of two people fully authorized to provide training in the Good Lives Model. He is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers and a Certified Trainer for the International Center for Clinical Excellence. 

Mr. Prescott is also available to conduct comprehensive risk assessments for agencies and individuals around Northern New England. He uses instrumentation such as the LOOK Assessment in psychosexual evaluations, and a variety of other measures for understanding risk trajectories among adolescents and adults.

Mr. Prescott is available for consultation, assessments, and training for clinicians, front-line staff, and the public via david.prescott@nextstepscs.org and at www.davidprescott.net.