Community Counseling Center
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’ve done interviews in the past, and I’ve never interjected myself or ideas in those interviews. I’ve focused on the organization and individuals within it. This time I feel compelled to give a personal perspective. I went to Family Services back in 1978 when I had a fussy baby, and a wonderful retired counselor gave me great ideas on how to keep my little, buddle of joy engaged. I went to them again nearly 18 years later when that bundle had grown into an independent teenager with his own ideas. We needed an unbiased person to help us communicate better. Family Services Center is now called the Community Counseling Center (CCC), and they recently celebrated their fiftieth year of service and with that the completion of a Golden Anniversary Capital Campaign, which enabled them to moved into a new home at 676 Pismo Street in San Luis Obispo.
STORY & PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY
Lili Sinclaire
The Greek playwright Sophocles said, “If we always helped one another, no one would need luck.” So many suffer with mental health issues or are down on their luck – it’s good to know the CCC is here to help!
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The mission of CCC is to build and support emotionally strong individuals, families, and communities through confidence, affordable, and transformative counseling, education, and advocacy. Their vision is a community where all members have access to qualified counseling, therapists are nurtured across their professional development and society is united in the effort to promote positive mental health. Reverend John Fuller, of St. Stephen’s church, was one of the founders of CCC. In 1968, the church not only helped the organization get started, but they also provided the office space for free until 1973. The Ministerial Association leadership saw a need in the community for counselling but they didn’t feel qualified to address the complex issues that were coming their way. They realized what was needed were clinical therapists who could help others, especially men who had served our county in Vietnam and were coming home emotionally distraught, with few places to turn for help. Arlen Chandler and June Gersten were among the first Marriage Family Therapist’s in the area to say they would step in and help.
The Freedom of Kindness Issue 2019
From early on CCC has provided: psychotherapy, mental health counseling, and marriage family therapy. Besides therapist CCC has provided clinical social workers and psychologists. CCC created Hotline in 1970 and operated the Warm line (a parenting advice line) from 1978 to 1996 when the Parent Connection took over. Areas in the community that CCC has participated in are child abuse prevention education, AIDS counseling, inmate counseling at the county jail, literacy classes, and various workshops and support groups. One of the main things that CCC has provided is affordable psychotherapy on a sliding scale. So if someone doesn’t have insurance they can still get help; the services are charged according to an individual’s income. Therapy consists of 10-15 sessions with the goal of assisting individuals and families in becoming aware of their choices and the ability they have to make changes. The focus can be on the family, couples, or individual counseling for relationship issues, parenting problems, life transition situations, sexual identity issues, depression, stress, and grief. They also have therapist who do Play Therapy with children. The staff consists of qualified, state-licensed, therapist or graduate level supervised interns and trainees. This includes people with masters and doctoral degrees. Between 60-70 active therapist volunteer. With the board members and cabinet members CCC has over 100 people who help make the organization run. Along with the SLO office, CCC also has an office in Grover Beach. Besides the sliding scale program CCC also has a K-12 on-campus counseling program in partnership with local school districts such as Lucia Mar, Atascadero, Templeton, and San Luis Coastal (contracts vary yearto-year). The focus is on individuals and groups giving socio-emotional support and prevention. “We want to support the educational goals of the school,” said James Statler the Executive Director of CCC. He also said, “Educational attentiveness and having social skills to interact with peers are big determinants if