New Compass (#635)
Early Intervention Services for Youth and Young Adults
Nevada County
Mono County
Placer County
If you are visiting our website, it is possible that you or a young person you know is experiencing new and unfamiliar signs of mental illness or psychosis, or may be at clinical high risk for developing psychosis. These experiences and concerns can be confusing or frightening, but with early intervention and treatment, there is an opportunity to slow the progression of illness, promote recovery, and reduce its impact.
Guided by Telecare’s Recovery-Centered Clinical System (RCCS), we work alongside young people and families to build on strengths, sustain hope, and support the education, relationships, work, and life goals that are meaningful to them.
Quick Facts
Ages 13-25
Support for early psychosis and clinical high risk
Telehealth services
Nevada, Mono, and Placer Counties
Medi-Cal
No cost for services
Referrals are processed through County Behavioral Health Services
Who We Help
Possible Early Signs
Who We Serve
The following experiences may be a temporary reaction to significant stressors, or they may be early signs of a developing psychotic illness.
Difficulty maintaining focus, concentration, or memory
Hearing sounds or voices, seeing visions, or experiencing unusual sensations that others do not perceive
Difficulty with conversations or communicating clearly
Feeling overly fearful or suspicious
Dramatic changes in behavior, ideas, sleep, or appetite
Withdrawal from friends and family or deterioration in school or work functioning
New Compass serves youth and young adults ages 13-25 who are experiencing concerning changes in their thoughts, perceptions, behavior, mood, or ability to function at school, work, home, or in relationships. Services may also support young people who are identified as being at clinical high risk for developing psychosis, including those with emerging or subtle symptoms or other risk factors that indicate a need for specialized assessment and preventive intervention. Assessment is used to understand the young person’s experience and identify helpful supports, not to define the person by a diagnosis.
How We Help
Care is shaped around each young person’s strengths, needs, culture, preferences, and personal definition of recovery. Young people and families are active partners in identifying the supports that may be most useful.
Coordinated Specialty Care
Services Include
New Compass uses Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC), an evidence-based, team-based approach for young people experiencing early signs or a first episode of psychosis, as well as those identified as being at clinical high risk. The model brings together therapy, medication support, family education, care coordination, peer support, and education and employment services. New Compass delivers these services within Telecare’s RCCS framework, pairing clinical expertise with the young person’s voice, choices, identity, capabilities, and hopes and dreams. Treatment decisions are made collaboratively, and progress is understood not only through symptom change but also through connection, independence, purpose, and movement toward the life the young person wants.
Outreach and education
Assessment with validated tools
Evidence-based individual therapy
Group therapy
Multi-family educational support
Case management and connection to housing and community resources
Vocational and educational support
Health and wellness services
Medication support, prescriptions, and management
Referrals
Contact the appropriate County Behavioral Health Services access line below.
The county will complete an initial screening to determine eligibility.
If eligible, County Behavioral Health Services will forward the referral to Telecare New Compass.
Once the referral is received, New Compass will contact the referred parties to schedule an evaluation.
Behavioral Health Access Lines
Nevada County: (530) 265-1437
Mono County: (760) 924-1740
Placer County: (888) 886-5401
Questions Before Making a Referral?
The New Compass team is happy to listen, answer questions, talk through what services may look like, and help families or providers determine whether New Compass could be an appropriate resource. You are welcome to contact us before beginning the county referral process.
General Program Inquiries
Email: newcompass@telecarecorp.com
Phone: (877) 205-6175
Why New Compass
Our Recovery-Centered Approach
New Compass operates within Telecare’s Recovery-Centered Clinical System, or RCCS. This framework helps make recovery personal and visible in everyday care by emphasizing respectful relationships, individual strengths, meaningful choice, and goals defined by the person receiving services. For young people and families, this means having a voice in care, being viewed as whole people rather than diagnoses, and receiving support that reflects what is important in their lives.
Specialized Early Psychosis Expertise
New Compass was initially developed through California’s Early Psychosis Intervention Plus grant in partnership with Early Psychosis Intervention California (EPI-CAL) and the California Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA). This statewide initiative was designed to expand access to high-quality, evidence-based early psychosis services, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
As California has moved toward broader implementation of Coordinated Specialty Care, the partnership has evolved. UC Davis now serves as the state’s Center of Excellence for this evidence-based model. New Compass continues to work with the Center of Excellence through specialized training, consultation, fidelity monitoring, and outcomes support to strengthen service quality.
Early, coordinated treatment can promote recovery, reduce the need for more intensive services, and help young people remain engaged in school, work, relationships, and community life.
Stories and Resources
Recovery looks different for every person. These stories show how early recovery-centered support can help young people reconnect with their abilities, relationships, education, work, independence, and hope for the future.
Telecare’s Recovery Model: RCCS
Telecare was founded on the belief that rehabilitation and recovery from serious mental illness are possible. We have consolidated our learning and experience into the Recovery-Centered Clinical System (RCCS), a richly personal, holistic, and comprehensive approach to recovery.
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