Services

Child Guidance Center provides evidence-based mental health services, from our flagship Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) program to intensive approaches for addressing the impact of trauma on children and families.  We also partner with leading public and private mental health organizations to promote best practices and leverage our collective efforts in supporting the community. More than 80 percent of the children and parents we assist (through 10 or more visits) achieve significant improvement in their mental health and overall well-being.

Among our key programs are:

  • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) – For children who have difficulty concentrating or become easily bored, the center provides a variety of approaches, with or without medication.
  • Behavior Management/Social Skills Therapy Groups – This modality focuses on providing children assistance in dealing with social situations, including accurately assessing their environment, recognizing what is expected and knowing appropriate reactions.
  • Family Mealtime Coaching – Funded by a grant from Harvard Institute of Coaching, this novel program is modeled after PCIT (see below), helping families dealing with eating difficulties, including overeating and extreme pickiness. Using live-coaching, the program teaches parents positive mealtime communication skills and methods for promoting healthy attitudes toward food.
  • Military Veterans Family Treatment and Support – The demands of military life and experiences of combat can significantly impact families. Our Strong Families, Strong Children Program addresses the psychological distress of pre-deployment and post deployment, as well as dealing with possible injury or loss and further complications such as substance abuse. The program emphasizes a coordinated, community-based approach to ensure military families receive comprehensive, culturally-sensitive mental health and basic needs services.
  • Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) – Through our collaboration and ongoing training with University of California, Davis, we have become the largest and most experienced Orange County provider of Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), a proven method for helping parents of young children (ages 2 to 8) enhance their relationships through better communication. During these sessions, our therapist coaches observe parent-child interactions and provide effective, real-time training in dealing with everyday situations.
  • Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) – This program was originally developed at UCLA and has expanded to expert treatment centers across the United States. PEERS® helps children and teens who are on the autism spectrum, equipping them with tools to socialize, effectively handle bullying, form bonds, and maintain friendships. The intent is to counter social/communication difficulties which can be very isolating to children. Parents attend a concurrent educational session and learn strategies to promote their child’s positive growth.
  • Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) – TF-CBT is a psychotherapy approach for children and adolescents who experience significant emotional and behavioral difficulties related to traumatic events such as death of a parent, physical injury or abuse. With the help of a therapist and their parent, children are able to confront and process the traumatic event, leading to progressive improvement in their emotional well-being. This therapy has resulted in significant reductions of parental stress, helping the entire family to heal.

Other services we provide:

  • Couples therapy
  • Clinicians fluent in American Sign Language
  • Crisis intervention
  • Evaluation and/or psychological assessment and testing
  • Group therapy
  • Individual and/or family therapy
  • Medication support
  • Play therapy
  • Positive parenting training
  • Professional consultations
  • School and medical professional consultation
  • Social skills therapy groups

Note that, in every situation, family members and children are provided confidential and highly professional services. Staff members are also culturally sensitive and multilingual.

If you are a professional interested in making a referral or a family member wanting more information, please call 714-953-4455 or email info@cgcinc.org.