Growing - Child Guidance Center of Southern Connecticut

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MISSION The Child Guidance Center of Southern Connecticut is a professionally-staffed outpatient mental health center for children and adolescents who experience psychological, behavioral, developmental, social or family problems.We are dedicated to reducing emotional suffering and dysfunctional behavior and to helping each individual achieve optimal potential. PHILOSOPHY Our services are guided by a philosophy that emphasizes understanding the unique qualities and experience of each child as influenced by the complex interaction of personality, emotional and cognitive development, family situation, and social environment. We view psychotherapy with children as a dynamic, interactive assessment and treatment process that examines problems while building on strengths, and believe our intervention is most effective when parenting figures are actively involved. We are committed to making our services accessible to all children and families in the community who can safely and productively participate in outpatient mental health treatment, while offering referral and advocacy for those who may require a more restrictive and structured environment.
MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND THE PRESIDENT Dear Friends, In response to the increasing number of children requiring professional mental health services and an intensification in the severity of their problems, our Board and staff created a strategic plan that has fostered growth to better meet these emerging community needs. Over the years, our efforts have had three major areas of focus: • Access: Increase the number of children served AND shorten the time families with non-emergency problems must wait before they can begin treatment by expanding staff and facilities • High Risk Kids: Avoid life-threatening and irreversible consequences of self harming and violent behavior by developing intensive specialized services for youngsters with severe problems and families with complex needs. • Prevention: Reduce the number of youngsters who will develop serious problems by initiating prevention and early intervention strategies in collaboration with parents and other community agencies. At the Child Guidance Center (CGC) our Strategic Plan has guided our growth and we have made significant progress in each of the above areas.At the same time we have maintained the awareness and flexibility needed to respond to new challenges facing children and families, and have strived to implement the most effective and innovative treatment approaches in our field. Some highlights of capacity-building this year include: • Anger Management Classes: With an awareness of escalating numbers of kids and teens with violent and aggressive behavior, we brought anger management classes to Stamford Academy, providing youngsters with specific skills to better handle conflict and reduce verbal and physical aggression. • New Group Therapy Program: To help groups of children work together to overcome similar problems, we have conducted theme-oriented groups for youngsters with particular needs. For example, a social skills group helped pre-adolescent boys address social anxiety and isolation, enhancing their ability to make and keep friends; a group for depressed teenage girls helped them address poor self-image and lack of confidence, enabling them to develop interests and participate in activities where they experience satisfaction and achieve success. • Darien Facility: To better serve families in Darien, we moved to a larger, handicap-accessible facility with room to accommodate group therapy, host large meetings, and offer community education and prevention programs. • In-Home Therapy Program: To enhance services for high risk adolescents, we increased the capacity of the In-Home Therapy program by 50%, providing intensive services for adolescents and families to reduce delinquent and dangerous behaviors and avoid placement in residential or juvenile correction facilities. • “Get Psyched!” To raise awareness about our services, deliver community education programs led by CGC professionals and increase financial support for programs, a new volunteer initiative was developed in Greenwich under the leadership of CGC Board member Debby Jones Lash and community volunteer, Laurel Forst. A highlight of this year’s activities was a workshop attended by over 50 middle school aged girls and moms that encouraged open dialogue at this crucial stage of adolescent development. Based on the success of this Greenwich volunteer group, we plan to engage volunteers in Stamford, Darien and New Canaan to customize a “Get Psyched!” group for each community. • www.childguidancect.org: To keep the community informed about CGC services, activities, staff, and job opportunities we redesigned our website. Future planned expansions of the website include educational materials about child development, parenting and mental health issues, enabling our website to become an important community resource for teens, parents, referral sources, mental health professionals and donors. We often say that “growing up isn’t easy for kids or their parents.” Growing to meet the community’s needs also has its challenges for a non-profit agency, but with the support of our friends we have been able to make great strides. Look for some exciting news in the coming year about our plans and progress towards a major expansion to better meet the mental health needs of children and families. We deeply appreciate your continuing support. Sherry Perlstein, MSW Executive Director John J. Raffaeli, Jr. President, Board of Directors
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Growing - Child Guidance Center of Southern Connecticut

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