Mental Health

Children and qualifying siblings between the ages of 4 and 18 who have experienced a trauma may be referred for therapy. We offer Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT), which is a specialized therapy for children and families of abuse. 

We also offer caregiver support groups for our families. If you are interested you may contact our therapy or advocacy staff with questions. 

Not every child that has exposure to a traumatic event needs counseling. In fact, many children (about 70%), having a supportive caregiver, may not ever need counseling. Our mental health counselor can help you determine if mental health counseling is right for your child and refer you to services through a mental health screening and consultation. 

Our advocacy and mental health staff help our families connect with counseling options in your area. Our staff works very hard to find counselors that are Trauma Informed and connect well with our kids. If necessary, our counselor will make referrals to the therapy clinic of the family's choice.

Every counselor is different, however, you can expect a counselor to gather information about your child's symptoms, behaviors, feelings, and thoughts; their school life; their life at home with their care givers; and what home has been like lately. Counselors will work with the caregivers and the child to develop treatment goals that will overall help the child's symptoms and family dynamics. Symptoms may worsen for a short period of time after starting counseling, but should improve with compliance in treatment. 

A good rule of thumb is if your child brings up their experience let them talk! If they talk to you about it, be ready to listen and be a safe place for them to come to.  It is okay not to know what to say or to have the answers! You can always say "Thank you so much for feeling safe to tell me that".  It is however recommended that you allow the child to bring up the conversation themselves if or when they are ready. 

If you or one of your other non-offending family members needs helping finding a therapist, our advocacy and therapy staff will be happy to help you find  a counselor in your area.