The Guidance Center

The Guidance Center has been providing comprehensive mental health care to children, youth, young adults, parents and families around California since 1946. Services offered range from family programs involving prevention or early intervention, families dealing with serious chronic illness, and families dealing with disadvantaged circumstances. Their comprehensive mental health services provide support that is tailored to fit the needs of the family, working with children, youth and teens who may be struggling with trauma, depression, anxiety, behavioral disorders, ADHD and more in an outpatient setting. Compassionate clinicians follow a strengths-based model, supporting each child to build on his or her strengths with individual, group and family therapy sessions. Additionally, The Guidance Center offers medication management, psychiatric care and assessment, crisis intervention services, and ongoing case management.

A specialized program offers support for children ages 0-5 who have experienced trauma surrounding attachment to their caregivers, with therapists working closely with families toward developmental milestones and trauma recovery. Child psychiatric services provide assessments or psychological testing in addition to medication monitoring. Parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) is a unique approach that helps parents foster close bonds, strengthen their relationships, master parenting skills, and reduce unwanted behaviors with on-the-spot parenting coaching for children ages 2-8.