Justice Forward Launching New Partnership with the Menninger Clinic

Justice Forward has long recognized the need to address the trauma and grief that specialty court participants have experienced, so we are excited to announce that we’ve established a partnership with one of the nation’s leading psychiatric service providers to offer counseling services to clients pro bono.

Houston is proud to be home to the Menninger Clinic, one of the nation’s leading psychiatric facilities. For over 90 years, people have traveled from all over the county and the world to seek Menninger’s individualized treatment services, particularly their research-driven, evidence-based assessments and treatment for people with mental illness and substance use disorders. Their areas of expertise include anxiety, depression, trauma—including complex trauma, and addiction, which they treat simultaneously with other psychiatric conditions.

Research clearly suggests a correlation between trauma and addiction. It is estimated that as high as 75 percent of people who survive abuse or trauma develop issues related to substance use. Both male and female sexual abuse survivors experience a higher rate of substance use disorder than those who have not experienced sexual abuse. Menninger offers holistic treatment plans to address these issues affecting the mind, body, and spirit. 

Our pilot program with the Menninger Clinic will begin in January 2023 with adult Harris County specialty court participants. Outcomes will be measured utilizing Menninger’s gold standard, evidence-based assessments, and we are hopeful the results will allow us to expand these services to the adolescents in our juvenile courts and possibly to the participants in the specialty courts in Galveston and Fort Bend counties.

Recovery happens through relationships and community. Justice Forward is excited for this unique opportunity to collaborate with Menninger to benefit our specialty court participants and graduates.