About Parkside:

Parkside Psychological Associates (Parkside) LLC is a privately-owned mental health practice which provides trauma specific treatment services to children, adolescents, and adults across three counties in Northwestern Pa- Crawford, Erie, and Mercer.

The Owner/Clinical Director, Audrey Smith, is a licensed psychologist with more than 25 years of experience providing clinical direction for specialized trauma treatment particularly that of sexual abuse. Parkside’s main office is located in Meadville Pennsylvania.

Licensed mental health therapists provide all therapy services in Meadville, Erie, Mercer and Sharon as well as offering school-based with treatment services in twelve schools in Crawford County.

The Parkside Difference:

We are at the forefront of trauma care, trained in a broad array of evidence-based treatment models. Our professional clinical staff are expertly trained, supervised, and managed, enabling Parkside to effectively collaborate with the Trauma Informed System of Care in Northwest Pennsylvania. Parkside’s unique capabilities and commitment to trauma are rooted in our founder and CEO’s 28+ years of experience with individuals within that system of care. 

Mission:

1. To provide with fidelity, effective trauma-specific therapy for children, adolescents, and adults whose lives have been impacted by traumatic events, utilizing evidence-based treatment models, and

2. To work collaboratively with system and community partners in the establishment of a trauma-   sensitive System of Care and ultimately, a trauma-responsive community. 

PARKSIDE Initial and On-going Trauma Assessment 

All clients referred to Parkside Psychological Associates participate in an initial assessment to obtain information related to the client’s trauma history and the emotional and behavioral impact of those experiences. The Parkside Initial Assessment Outline details assessment methodology and instruments specific to each age group. Assessment results are synthesized into a unique client picture of the client’s strengths and needs.

The results of all Initial Assessments are used to determine if clients are appropriate for Parkside treatment services or if referral to a different service is warranted (PCIT, general mental health treatment, in-home services, etc.). 

The results also assist the clinician in making a clinical diagnosis and in selecting the treatment model that is best suited to meet the client’s needs. Assessment scores are also utilized to evaluate treatment effectiveness during and post-treatment. All Initial Assessment Reports are reviewed and signed-off by Ms. Smith or John Etling, PhD, LPC, Executive Clinical Director. 

Parkside Training and Supervision: 

In addition to external trauma training, new therapists are trained by Audrey Smith and John Etling in a 25-point clinical orientation to trauma assessment and treatment. 

Topics are covered such as:

• multi-faceted assessment
• synthesizing assessment information into a unique client picture/assessment report
• caregivers as trauma survivors
• the neurobiology of trauma
• stabilization techniques: quieting the survival brain
• complex trauma: unique needs of children and families, and trauma resolution: elements of effective treatment. 

After the initial orientation, therapists receive ongoing consistent clinical supervision, minimally on a bi-monthly basis. 

PARKSIDE Models of Trauma Treatment

Recognizing that client treatment and responsivity needs can vary dramatically across the population of individuals who are referred for specialized trauma services, Parkside has committed significant resources and efforts into the creation of a continuum of trauma treatment services. 

All models of treatment offered by PARKSIDE are found on the National Registry of Evidenced-Based Practices list and/or the National Child Traumatic Stress Network list of Evidenced-Based and Promising Practices. 

These include:

• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
• TF-CBT (Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
• TFCBT for Complex Trauma
• SMART (Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment)
• Seeking Safety
• Real Life Heroes
• SPARCS (Structured Psychotherapy Responding to Chronic Stress)
• TIR (Traumatic Incident Reduction)
• ARC (Attachment Self-regulation and Competency for Complex Trauma)

 

Parkside School Program: 

Parkside enjoys long-held, deep relationships within eleven different schools in Crawford County. We offer specialty trauma focused, licensed counseling services, consulting, and training in these schools. 

Additionally, we staff and support new, innovative intervention programs in two different schools designed to keep the student in school while receiving needed beneficial interventions so they can achieve academic and therapeutic goals concurrently. 

These supervised non-licensed positions provide ladder opportunities for our non-licensed staff to attain their required clinical supervision hours in pursuit of their state licensure as Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC) and Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW).

Michele Tome leads the Parkside School Program. Michele has worked as a licensed trauma specialist in several clinical environments including a focus on school age children. 

Mrs. Adam’s experience in this area of practice is invaluable to the schools and the clinicians practicing within the schools. She brings a steady and experienced voice to the collaborations with the student, their family, the school and outside agencies.

Parkside Training:

PARKSIDE staff has now trained over 8,000 people in Northwest Pennsylvania on a variety of topics related to trauma. In addition to the human service providers trained through the Trauma Informed System of Care grant, they have also developed and presented trainings ranging from 2-12+ hours to a variety of professionals including the Crawford County Bar Association, Crawford County Dental Association, Adult Probation and Parole, Crawford County Child Interview Center, as well as thousands of local teachers and school-based professionals. 

Trainings have also been developed and conducted with Resource Parents, Juvenile Probation Officers and Children and Youth Services workers across multiple counties.

On a state level they have provided a 2-day trauma training to PA Juvenile Probation officers and presented seminars on trauma at the State Juvenile Justice Annual Conference, the PA State System of Care Conference and at the PA Sexual Offender Assessment Board quarterly training.

Community Leadership:

Parkside is an active member of the Crawford County System of Care Leadership Team which has made a commitment to the development of a Trauma Informed System of Care. To facilitate attainment of this goal, Audrey Smith (linked), Parkside CEO and founder and Bernice Leonard (linked) Vice President have extensively researched over many years examples of successful implementation of trauma informed system of care, communities of care and trauma sensitive schools. 

Parkside is an active member of the Crawford County Children’s Advisory Council a Communities That Care Board. This Board brings together county agencies, service providers, schools, law enforcement, medical and other community members dedicated to meeting the needs of children and families in Crawford County. Parkside is a member of the Safe Schools/Healthy Students initiative in Crawford County through the PENNCREST School District.

Much of the work to raise awareness and increase effective responses to trauma has been in partnership with the Crawford County System of Care (SOC) Leadership Team. The SOC initiative and the focus on becoming a trauma informed SOC have strengthened these relationships as well as incorporating a much stronger partnership with youth and family consumers. As part of the mission of the SOC a sub-committee has been formed to work toward a trauma informed community. This sub-committee, Peace4Crawford, is receiving guidance and support from the first city to be recognized as a trauma informed community, Tarpon Springs, Florida through its Peace4Tarpon movement.

Parkside Trauma Informed Community Origins:

The Parkside Director has collaborated with Robin Saenger, the founder of Peace 4 Tarpon, a trauma informed community initiative in Tarpon Springs, Florida, and continues to have contact with this extraordinarily successful initiative. Peace 4 Tarpon has collaborated with SAMHSA’s National Center on Trauma Informed Care and is referred to as the first trauma informed community in the United States. 

One of the results of Parkside and the Peace4Crawford’s collaboration was that they were invited to a conference at Tarpon Springs as one of only five Peace4 communities. The conference allowed for the five initiatives to collaborate further and learn from each.

CART Program:

Audrey Smith, MA Licensed Psychologist is the Clinical Director of this program and has been with the program from its inception. 

The Community Abuse Response Team (CART) a program of Parkside Psychological Associates has provided treatment for individuals who have been sexually abused and individuals with problematic sexual behavior in Crawford County for 28 years. The mission of Parkside Psychological Associates is to provide specialized assessment and treatment to children, adolescents, and adults whose lives have been impacted by traumatic events. 

In July of 2021 Parkside Psychological Associates celebrated a 28-year history of providing treatment services for both individuals who have been victimized by sexual abuse and have perpetrated sexual aggression through the Community Abuse Response Team (CART) program. The scores of individuals served have taught us much about the myriad ways in which trauma can impact a person’s life and methods of working collaboratively to facilitate growth and recovery.

(Today the “CART” moniker is used specifically for the treatment of individuals with problematic sexual behavior but in its inception, it was a term for the entire treatment program for individuals who have been impacted by sexual abuse.) 

Over the past 16 years Parkside’s primary model of treatment for children and teen survivors of sexual abuse has been the evidence-based Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT (Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) model. The more skillful we have become in utilizing this approach, the more our appreciation has grown for its brilliance and utility. Numerous children have demonstrated decreased symptoms of PTSD, depression and anxiety following completion of the TF-CBT treatment protocol. However, through research and professional consultation we have come to recognize that many of the youth referred to us through the juvenile justice, child welfare and mental health systems, are presenting with the sequelae of complex trauma.

Based on this insight, Parkside has expanded our clinical competencies, enabling us to provide effective assessment and treatment for children and adults who come with a diverse array of clinical presentations stemming from trauma exposure. While we remain committed to our continued use of TF-CBT, we are now utilizing several other evidence-based treatment models. 

Parkside Therapists have already been trained in Attachment, Self-Regulation and Competency (ARC), Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS), Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR), and Seeking Safety. This expansion of training and clinical skill facilitates effective treatment for children, adults and families who present with complex trauma and attachment difficulties both for sexual abuse and non-sexual abuse related trauma. (link all of the clinical models)

History of the CART Program at Parkside: 

(Community Abuse Response Team)

During a ten-year period spanning from 1998 to 2008, CART services were part of Family Services of NWPA. In 2006 Ms. Smith, the CART staff and other Family Services of NW PA staff from the agency’s Erie office were trained in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) via funds from a PCCD grant. 

In 2008 the CART program transferred to Parkside Psychological Associates (Parkside) where the therapists have continued to utilize TF-CBT as a foundational model for the treatment of sexual abuse in children and families. Parkside has maintained a strong collaborative affiliation with Family Services of NW PA and continues to provide specialized training and consultation for several programs at Family Services of NW PA. 

CART’s primary model of treatment for children and teen survivors of sexual abuse has been the evidence-based Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) model. The more skillful we have become in utilizing this approach, the more our appreciation has grown for its brilliance and utility.