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Christian Family
Care Agency provides child and family counseling programs that help
children, families, and individuals resolve social and emotional
difficulties.
Please note:
Christian Family
Care Agency
now has satellite offices in the Scottsdale, and
Fountain Hills areas.
To schedule an
appointment at any one of our convenient locations,
call CFCA at
602-266-8255.
Counselors
CFCA's counselors are
all Masters-level therapists, many of whom are Arizona Licensed
Professional Counselors or Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists.
In addition to extensive training, they bring practical life
experience to their work. They have been school teachers,
school counselors, social workers and missionaries.
Additionally, some are foster and adoptive parents.
Counseling Interns
Admission into CFCA’s internship program is very competitive. Each intern is in the final stage of obtaining his or her Master’s Degree and is carefully evaluated prior to being accepted into the program. CFCA provides each intern with specialized training, quality supervision and close monitoring. Clients with limited financial means may choose to see a counseling intern and benefit from the affordable fees charged for their services.
Child and Family Counseling
Counseling is available for children
and adolescents, and their families who need help with:
Specialized counseling is available for children struggling with:
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Attention Deficit Disorder
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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
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Issues stemming from abandonment and neglect
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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
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Oppositional Defiant Disorder
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Physical or sexual abuse or other trauma
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Post-traumatic stress disorder
CFCA does not provide child custody evaluations for divorcing parents or parents who are disputing custody of their minor children.
Individual and Family Counseling
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Play Therapy
A child’s language is play. By using play therapy, sand tray therapy and art therapy, counselors help children suffering from various difficulties: divorce, separation, depression abuse, post-traumatic stress or the loss of a parent or family member. CFCA’s counselors can help with assessment, behavior management, social skills, anger management, self-control and emotional healing. Children lack the cognitive maturity to benefit from talking through their problems. In a play therapy session, the child is able to work through problems as they create a world they can master. They practice social skills, overcome frightening feelings, and symbolically triumph over the upsets and traumas that have stolen their sense of well-being.
A trained play therapist understands the metaphorical content of a child's play, and strives to help the child express their needs and discover solutions in a safe, therapeutic environment. Play is the child's natural method of learning, developing, and expressing their feelings. Play Therapy offers children the opportunity to use the power of their own natural creativity and imagination to heal and grow.
Play therapy takes place in a playroom, specially designed, decorated, and furnished with the toys and equipment children need to use as tools for the dramatic scenes they direct with the therapist. Parents are important allies in the play therapy process and can do much to support and enhance the work their child does in play therapy sessions. Therapists meet regularly with parents to learn what is happening in the child's life, to share important observations, and to give suggestions on how parents can support their child's therapy.
Children's families have varying degrees of functionality, their experiences are different and the symbolic themes they choose to play deviate considerably. The constant-with-children in play therapy is that they each know what they need to do when presented with a well-equipped playroom and a trained play therapist to accompany them on their journey of play. Children who can benefit from the process range from those who have had no major trauma in their lives to those who have suffered severe harm, abuse or neglect.
The following story illustrates how play therapy might be used with a child.
Nine year old Ashley's mother, Suzanne, called Christian Family Care Agency after learning from Ashley’s teacher that she was fighting on the playground and failing in nearly all subjects.
Suzanne brought Ashley to CFCA for counseling where she told Cara, the therapist, that Ashley had never had problems in school until last year. This was in spite of Ashley's father abandoning the family many years before. Cara asked if anything different had happened recently to upset Ashley. Suzanne reluctantly explained that about a year ago, Ashley had seen her ex-boyfriend hit her. She felt so ashamed that she had been a victim of domestic violence that she had never told anyone about the incident.
After hearing about Ashley, Cara explained play therapy to Suzanne, showed her the playroom, and suggested counseling for the little girl.
At Ashley's first appointment, Cara encouraged Ashley to explore the playroom and reassured her that it was a safe place. After looking around the room, Ashley placed some dolls in the dollhouse and began to show Cara what scared the dolls at night. As Ashley's play therapy unfolded, over multiple sessions, she replayed symbolically all the things that had traumatized her, even the abandonment by her father at an early age. Cara knew how to follow Ashley's lead in the play in order to help her get the results she needed from the experience.
This symbolic play continued until Ashley became empowered enough to overcome the problems in the scenarios. When this difficult stage was completed, the play changed to themes of everyday life, some with Ashley playing the role of a teacher telling a mother how wonderfully her child was doing in school.
Toward the end of therapy, Ashley repeated a significant scene from her earlier play; symbolically bidding farewell to the process that had empowered her. The final session was a party with refreshments of Ashley's choice, and a gift from Cara, especially chosen to honor the important work Ashley had completed.
As Cara and Suzanne met for the last time, Suzanne joyfully reported that Ashley's teacher had called to tell how much better Ashley was doing socially and academically. In fact, Ashley would make the honor role this quarter. Cara rejoiced with Suzanne, and also congratulated her on the growth she had made in her own life while Ashley was in therapy. Leaving therapy was both sad and happy for Ashley and Suzanne. They would miss Cara, but they knew there was help available should they ever need it again.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT PLAY THERAPY
What is play therapy?
Play therapy is to children what counseling is to adults. Play therapy utilizes play, children's natural medium of expression, to help them express their feelings by using toys instead of words.
What is sand tray therapy?
Sand Tray Therapy is a method used to allow children, and adults, to express them-selves through the manipulation of objects in small, tabletop sandboxes (or trays). Sand tray participants are invited to create a diorama (a story or miniature world) by arranging toy people, animals and other items in the sand tray. This non-invasive method works especially well with children who have difficulty comprehending and talking about difficult issues, such as trauma, abuse or the loss of a family member. After creating the world or scene, the therapist works with the child to come to a resolution for the situation that they’ve depicted.
What is art therapy?
Art therapy allows children to express themselves by painting, drawing, creating collages and working with clay. Art therapy has the same benefits as play and sand tray therapy in that it allows children to express themselves in a way that is easy for them to understand.
Why use play therapy?
Play Therapy is the most appropriate method of treatment for children who are having difficulties coping with life situations. Though children lack the cognitive skills to express themselves with words, they are fluent in the language of play. Play therapy allows them to express themselves in the way in which they are most comfortable.
How do you determine if a child needs play therapy?
Children may go through difficult times, such as the divorce of their parents, a death in the family, or adjusting to changes at school or home. Some children need more help than others to get through these times. If a parent, teacher or other adult in a child’s life is concerned about a child's behavior, play therapy may be helpful.
What toys are in a play therapy playroom and why?
Toys are carefully selected to facilitate creative and emotional expression from children. These may include puppets, dollhouses, paint and clay, to name just a few. The toys can be played with in many ways and therefore allow children to make choices and decisions. The toys are also safe, durable and sturdy to allow for repeated use and rough play.
How long does a child need to receive play therapy?
The length of time a child is seen in play therapy varies from child to child. It depends upon the severity of the trauma, the child's personality and how the child perceived the trauma.
What's the difference between play therapy and simply playing with my child at home?
Play therapists are specifically trained to provide an environment of acceptance, empathy and understanding in the play therapy room. Play therapy is not the same thing as playing. Play therapy uses the child's natural tendency to "play out" their reactions to life situations, in the presence of a trained play therapist, to help them feel accepted and understood and gain a sense of control or understanding of difficult situations.
What is group play therapy?
Group play therapy is similar to individual play therapy in many ways, but is different in that usually between two and four children spend their play therapy time together with one play therapist. Group play therapy provides children with the opportunity to learn and practice social skills in situations that are very similar to real life social situations.
Can a play therapist tell me if my child has been abused?
If you suspect abuse, your child can be referred for a formal abuse evaluation.
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FEES
CFCA is a non-profit organization and the cost of providing services exceeds the fees charged for those services. Counseling fees vary by counselor and the type of counseling received. Fees are modifiable based on income and family size, and are discussed with each client at the first session.
INSURANCE
CFCA
may be able to accept some insurance plans; check with your intake
worker or call for more information.
To talk to someone at Christian Family Care Agency
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In Phoenix/Northern Arizona,
call
602.266.TALK
In Tucson/Southern Arizona,
call 520.296.TALK
or submit the
Request
Information Form on
the Contact page.
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COUNSELING RESOURCES
Workshops/Seminars/Training Classes
Call about our
"Parenting with Love and Logic" classes.
In Phoenix/Northern Arizona,
call
602.266.TALK
In Tucson/Southern Arizona,
call 520.296.TALK
or submit the
Request
Information Form on
the Contact page.
CFCA Resource Library
The CFCA Resource Library
is available for community use. The library, created through a grant
received from Ronald McDonald House Charities, includes books focused
on adoption, foster care and parenting. It specifically provides
resources for families who are parenting children with special needs,
particularly those children who have been abused, neglected or abandoned.
Additionally, the library includes a broad selection of illustrated
stories about adoption for both preschool- and school-aged children.
The library, which includes more than 1,000 books and videos, is located
in the Phoenix office at 3603 North 7th Avenue and is open during the
Agency's regular business hours.
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