Our History: The 25th Anniversary
of Community Counseling Services
Twenty-five years ago, graduate students obtaining a Masters in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) had a vision to establish a clinic where they could apply and develop their clinical skills as therapists, and provide individuals, couples and families with high-quality affordable counseling. The Community Counseling & Parent Child Study Center (the Center) was established and originally located in CLU's Student Health Services. In 2006, the the Center was relocated to a new building with 12 new treatment rooms that included a play therapy room, large group rooms, and offices for supervisors and staff.
The Center has grown from a handful of graduate students to a current class of 40 MFT trainees completing their graduate training. The number of supervisors has also increased steadily and currently the Center has six licensed clinical supervisors. The mission of the center has remained the same since its inception: to provide affordable counseling services to members of our local communities; and to provide the best training available to graduate students obtaining an MFT degree.
In 2008, the Center was renamed to Community Counseling and Parent Child Study Center, reflecting our new identity as a site for the advancement of psychotherapy process and outcome research; as well as research in the area of parent/child attachment.
Training at the center includes the Monday Case Conference Series to which renowned clinicians, theoreticians, faculty and other figures involved with the practice of counseling and psychotherapy are regularly invited. Past invited guests include Dr. Miguel Gallardo, President of the California Psychological Association; Michael Bowers, Executive Director of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy; Dr. Steven Lopez, UCLA Professor; and Dr. Sarah Sentilles, author of "A Church of Her Own: What Happens When a Woman Takes the Pulpit".
The Center plans to celebrate its 25th year anniversary with a fundraiser dinner that will have Dr. Morris Eagle as the invited keynote speaker. Over 200 alumni of the MFT program at CLU, as well as other professionals in the mental health fields of the Conejo Valley, Ventura, and Los Angeles Counties will be invited to the event. The occasion will mark the celebration of 25 years of community service with a strong emphasis on helping disenfranchised populations; and it will also mark the future directions for the Center, taking into account the best available practices in clinical work with families, couples, children, and individuals.
Nuestra Historia
El Centro de Conserjería a la Comunidad en la Universidad Luterana de California fue establecido en el 1983. Un grupo de estudiantes le planteó la idea a la facultad de crear una clínica en la Universidad donde estudiantes graduados podrían poner en práctica las destrezas clínicas que estaban desarrollando en el tratamiento de individuos, niños, parejas y familias. Los servicios que se brindan en el Centro de Conserjería son ofrecidos por estudiantes graduados, cursando su último año de Maestría en el Programa de Counseling Psychology con énfasis en Marriage and Family Therapy, bajo la supervisión de profesionales licenciados en el campo de salud mental. Hoy día, más de 30 aprendices trabajan en el Centro de Conserjería proveyendo más de 5,000 horas de terapia cada año. Las tarifas se fijan de acuerdo al ingreso y el tamaño de la familia y pueden ser tan bajas como $20 por sesión. Nuestro programa continua expandiendo con los referidos que recibimos de nuestros clientes. El éxito de nuestros clientes, por lo tanto, se convierte en nuestro éxito – una tradición de la cual nos sentimos orgullosos y agradecidos.
