General Information

ercy Family Center is a child and adolescent outpatient behavioral health clinic with locations in the Greater New Orleans area and on the North Shore. Founded in 1992, Mercy Family Center serves children and their families from all parts of Louisiana and Southern Mississippi. Psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers offer a range of services including individual and family counseling, psycho-educational testing, medication management, and behavioral consultation for parents and teachers. Mercy Family Center is a primary referral site in New Orleans for the identification and treatment of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), Autism Spectrum Disorders including PDD, and other childhood disorders.

This website is dedicated to Sister Sarah Ducey who co-founded Mercy Family Center in 1992. Seeing a need for mental health services for low-income families in our community, she sought funding for a clinic that would be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. Thanks to her leadership and vision, Mercy Family Center continues to fulfill the Sisters’ mission in Southeast Louisiana by providing holistic healing for the body, mind, and spirit.

Our Mission:

ercy Family Center seeks to uphold the mission and ministry of the Sisters of Mercy Ministries by providing innovative mental health services to families, with particular concern for the economically poor.

We seek to treat our clients with respect and dignity, regardless of socioeconomic position. We strive for excellence in service while maintaining wise stewardship of our resources.

Our History

In the 1850’s, the Redemptionist Fathers in New Orleans asked Sisters of Mercy living in Ireland for help in ministering to the people of New Orleans. These requests were turned down because superiors were unwilling to endanger the lives of the Sisters with the unhealthy living conditions and fear of yellow fever which were both very prevalent at that time.

After a decade of searching for Sisters who might help, the Redemptionist priests used ecclesiastical channels to speak to Archbishop Kenrick in St. Louis. On March 1, 1869 it was agreed that a foundation would go from St. Louis to New Orleans. Two weeks later, Sister Catherine Grant and Sister Mary Teresa Austin Carroll, accompanied by four other women, boarded the “Mollie Able” for their trip down the Mississippi River to New Orleans.

Since 1869 when these six Sisters of Mercy arrived in New Orleans, the spirit of Mercy has touched millions of lives. Early works of the Sisters of Mercy in New Orleans included visiting the sick, teaching children and adults, nursing the victims of yellow fever epidemics, visiting people in prison, and providing a refuge for working girls and orphans. Over the years, the Sisters extended their presence and services to other areas of ministry, including the sponsorship of Mercy Hospital from 1924 to 1994.

Sisters of Mercy are moved to act with a spirit of innovation and compassion. These characteristics were never more evident than through the founding of Mercy Family Center by Sister Sarah Ducey, RSM.

After earning her master’s degree, Sr. Sarah counseled disadvantaged youths in a group home in St. Louis and then in a Little Rock secondary school. These experiences led her to complete a doctorate in developmental psychology from the University of New Orleans. Through on-the-ground research related to her graduate thesis, Sr. Sarah and fellow classmate Mindy Malik, Ph.D. became acutely aware of the magnitude and severity of family and social problems with related mental health issues. With the help of Mercy Hospital, their dream of developing a comprehensive therapeutic intervention program was born.

Mercy Family Center, a multidisciplinary outpatient mental health clinic for children, adolescents, and their families, opened its doors on October 5, 1992 on a budget of $60,000 and a staff of three. As Sr. Sarah so accurately recognized, there was a tremendous need for quality mental health services in the New Orleans area and Mercy Family Center quickly surpassed its goal of serving 200-300 families per year. From the very beginning, Mercy Family Center provided quality assessment and intervention services that are accessible to people of all income levels. The staff recognized that the individual is part of the larger framework of family, neighborhood, school and community. As a result, both individual and family goals are addressed within these overlapping systems. Treatment approaches emphasize behavior change, problem-solving and promotion of self-esteem for the individual and the family.

In 1995, psychiatrist Dr. Mark Sands joined the staff at Mercy Family Center, enabling the program to begin providing medication management and psychopharmacology services. In 1998, an additional clinic was opened in Mandeville, LA in order to better serve the state’s fastest growing parish, St. Tammany. And in 2003 and 2004, Mercy Family Center opened two Learning Centers in order to better serve children identified with learning style differences.

The same spirit of innovation and compassion that inspired Sr. Sarah to begin Mercy Family Center continues today and has been aptly expressed in their response to the immediate and increasing need for mental health services in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Project Fleur-de-lis™, designed by Douglas W. Walker, Ph.D. is an intermediate and long-term school-based mental health service model for children who have been exposed to traumatic events as a result of natural and man-made disasters. Project Fleur-de-lis™ is currently being implemented within numerous schools throughout the greater New Orleans area.

Today, Mercy Family Center has two locations, over 20 full-time employees, serves nearly 3,000 families per year, and is recognized as the premier provider of children’s mental health services in the greater New Orleans area. In fiscal year 2006-07, they delivered nearly $400,000 in “Mercy Care” (charity care) services and are positioned as a major factor in the post-Katrina recovery of New Orleans though Project Fleur-de-lis™. They look forward to continuing to fulfill the mission and ministry of the Sisters of Mercy in the greater New Orleans area.

Mercy Services Commitment:

We make a difference by touching the lives of those we serve with compassion and exceptional service.

Mercy Service Standards:

1. Treat everyone as a valued individual.

2. Seek out and address customer needs.

3. Make eye contact, greet and welcome everyone.

4. Display a positive presence.

5. Keep customers and co-workers informed.

6. Work as a team.

7. Maintain privacy and confidentiality.

8. Keep a clean environment.

9. Live the Mercy Spirit.