ABOUT US

Founded in 1963 to address the mental health care needs of the New Hampshire Seacoast, Seacoast Mental Health Center (SMHC) is one of ten non-profit state-designated community mental health centers (CMHCs) in New Hampshire. As a CMHC, we provide evaluations and treatment services to children, adolescents and families, adults, and the elderly who reside in our catchment area regardless of their ability to pay. We accept most major insurances and offer a sliding fee scale for uninsured consumers living in the eastern half of Rockingham County.

The mission of Seacoast Mental Health Center is to provide a broad, comprehensive array of high quality, effective and accessible mental health services to residents of the eastern half of Rockingham County.

Seacoast NH community support clinic street sign

PORTSMOUTH LOCATION

EXETER LOCATION

Services Include:

24/7 Crisis Intervention

  • Adults Only
    • Community Residences: Fairweather Lodge
    • Health and Wellness Outreach Services
    • Homeless Outreach
    • Supported Employment (SE)*
  • Assertive Community Treatment (ACT)*
  • Assessment and Evaluation
  • Children, Adolescents and their Families only
    • Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP)
    • Debriefing services to schools and organizations affected by  traumatic events
    • Helping the Noncompliant Child (HNC)
    • NH Division Children Youth and Families (DCYF) foster care assessments
    • Post-intervention services to schools and community organizations affected by suicide and loss
    • Rehabilitation for Empowerment Natural Supports Education and Work (RENEW)
    • Therapeutic Mentoring
    • Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT)
  • Functional Support Services/ Community-Based Behavioral Supports (FSS)

*Evidence-Based Practices

  • Illness Management and Recovery (IMR)*
  • Individual, Group and Family counseling/psychotherapy
    • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) *
    • Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) *
    • Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) *
    • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)*
    • Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy*
  • Mental Health First Aid
  • Older Adults Only
    • Referral Education Assistance and Prevention (REAP)
  • Psychiatric Evaluation, consultation and medication management
  • Psychological Testing/ Neuro – Psychological Testing
  • Substance Use Disorder Treatment
    • Opioid Addiction Treatment Services
    • Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT Program)
  • Targeted Case Management (TCM)

Notice of Privacy Practices

This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed, and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.

Read Document

Please contact Nancy at 603.957.5785.

Meet Our Executive Team

Our Executive Team members are considered experts in their respective fields locally, regionally and nationally. Experienced and highly qualified professionals trained in psychiatry, psychology, mental health and substance use disorder counseling, clinical social work and nursing provide all our services.

Jay Couture, MHA

Executive Director

Jay Couture brings more than twenty-five years of progressive experience in New Hampshire’s community mental health system, serving in her current role since 2002. Ms. Couture is Past President of the New Hampshire Community Behavioral Health Association and was an active member of the task force that developed the Ten Year Plan – “Addressing the Critical Mental Health Needs of NH’s Citizens: A Strategy for Restoration.”

Ms. Couture received her Bachelor’s Degree in Child and Family Studies and her Masters in Health Administration from the University of New Hampshire and currently is a member of UNH Health Management and Policy Advisory Committee.

Wassfy M. Hanna, MD

Medical Director

Dr. Hanna has served as the Medical Director since 1968 and prior to that, he served as a staff psychiatrist at the Gaebler Children’s Center and Metropolitan Hospital in Waltham, MA. Dr. Hanna also served as Director of Training of Harvard Fellows in Psychiatry at the Gaebler Children’s Center. His teaching experience includes both Tufts University Medical School and Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Hanna is Board Certified in both Adult Psychiatry and Child Psychiatry in New Hampshire.  He holds professional memberships in the American Psychiatric Association, the NH Medical Society and the New Hampshire Psychiatric Society.

Pam Zagorski, MBA, JD

Chief Administrative Officer

Pam Zagorski has over thirty years’ experience in the healthcare and human services sector, holding positions in provider, managed care and consulting organizations. She began in her career as a clinical laboratory technologist and transitioned to healthcare finance and administration with progressively responsible positions leading to Chief Financial Officer of a multi-state human services organization.

Ms. Zagorski earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Bridgeport, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts and a Juris Doctorate from Western New England University. Ms. Zagorski is a licensed attorney and an Administrative Surveyor for CARF International.

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Service Area

Communities included in our catchment area are: Brentwood, Deerfield, East Kingston, Epping, Exeter, Fremont, Greenland, Hampton, Hampton Falls, Kensington, Kingston, New Castle, Newfields, Newington, Newmarket, North Hampton, Northwood, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Raymond, Rye, Seabrook, South Hampton, and Stratham.

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FAQ’s

Frequently Asked Questions – When it comes to your well-being, we expect you to have questions. View our Frequently Asked Questions page for answers, and get in touch with us if your questions aren’t answered!

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Board of Directors

As a 501 (c) 3 organization, we are governed by a volunteer board of directors whose role is to ensure that we meet our mission and remain a fiscally sound organization. To do so, the board meets monthly and members actively serves on the Governance, Finance, Facilities, and Development Committees.

Group of friends holding hands together making a circle

Staff

You can count on our experienced and highly qualified professionals trained in psychiatry, psychology, mental health and substance misuse counseling, opioid addiction treatment, clinical social work and nursing.

TESTIMONIALS

“We’re proud supporters of Seacoast Mental Health Center. They provide such a valuable service for our community in a respectful and caring way. We have seen this firsthand at their Art of Recovery event when local artists and clients come together and produce some amazing artwork.”

Rick Wallis, President/CEOPiscataqua Savings Bank

“There is a realness to how they treat me. They care about me as a human being and about making sure I have everything I need. I wouldn’t be able to do this without them. Autism can certainly be a challenge, but the therapists have motivated my kids to do the work necessary to make improvements. They need structure and the staff there provides that.”

Michelle

“We had been ‘Ann and Dick’ for 56 years and then ‘we’ was just me. Suddenly, I was living by myself, and that was a big change for me. I needed someone to talk to—more than that, though, I needed to talk to a professional person with specific knowledge, empathy, and understanding. I found that at SMHC.”

Dick

“I don’t know what I would’ve done without Seacoast Mental Health. I’ve been so stuck in the world of heroin and fentanyl that I never really believed I could stop. I was pretty much resigned to the fact that I would die using. Or end up in jail for years. I’ve been in and out of jail a lot over the past 3 years and don’t have many more chances. I’m so thankful that the psychiatrist and the program didn’t give up on me even when I was giving up on myself. I’ve finally got some hope that things can change for me and I haven’t had that before.”

Danielle

“I started using pain pills to deal with a tragedy in my family. They just took the edge off the pain. I had no idea I’d get hooked and not be able to stop. It started affecting my job, my marriage, everything. Coming to Seacoast Mental Health Center was very hard to do as I’d always been so independent. It really hurt my ego to admit I needed help, but I was going down fast after only 9 months. Getting off of the pills with the use of Suboxone and the program here literally saved everything for me. I was afraid I’d lose my job and end up divorced, but in just weeks I was able to get back on my feet and be fully functioning at work and home again. I’m so grateful the program is here and that I’ve gotten the support I needed before I lost it all like so many others I’ve heard about.”

Tom

“Seacoast Mental Health Center is a critical provider of mental health services in the Seacoast area. We are impressed with how hard the medical and clinical support teams work to meet clients’ diverse needs and most importantly partnering with them on their journey to wellness. As a provider partner with Seacoast Pathways, a non-clinical mental health recovery program for adults, SMHC demonstrates its commitment to the whole person, understanding that social connectedness is also essential for recovery. Financial support from the community is essential to ensuring SMHC is there 24/7 to help all ages better achieve a quality life and manage a mental illness.”

Peter and Ann Strachan

“I am committed to strengthening the access to mental health services in NH. I have personally felt the effects of a loss of family member due to mental health issues. It is important that our community support those in need and to actively promote mental healthcare access and affordability.”

Mark CochranSeacoast Mental Health Center Board Member of Directors

“Child abuse and neglect is much more than just a legal, social, medical, or mental health problem; first and foremost, it is a family problem. Together, the Child Advocacy Center of Rockingham County and Seacoast Mental Health Center have collaborated to provide victims better access to the therapy, case management, and psychiatric help they deserve on their path to healing. For over 16 years, this partnership has been committed to fostering a supportive environment that promotes healing, a sense of community, and better outcomes for child victims.”

Maureen Sullivan, DA, MBAExecutive Director, Child Advocacy Center of Rockingham County

“After several months of working with SMHC’s REAP program, I feel a lot better about my life. I’ve even rediscovered the joy of testing out new recipes and have become involved with a local farm that delivers fresh vegetables. When I feel in a funky mood, I now have tools and worksheets from my REAP counseling sessions that I can review and remind myself what helps me stay mentally healthy.”

Nancy

“I arrived at Cross Roads House struggling with a misdiagnosed mental illness and very extreme side effects from the medications I was taking. I had a plan to end my life; I had just thrown in the towel. I talked to a Seacoast Mental Health Center homeless outreach person on the phone, gave her my will, and she called the police and I was court ordered to the hospital. Thanks to the partnership between Cross Roads and SMHC, I received the psychiatric services I needed and met a great doctor who identified that I had something simple that was being misdiagnosed – bipolar disorder. My ADHD amplifies all that. The next few months things were pretty tough, but I finally got my medicine changed.”

Shawn

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