OUR MISSION

The purpose of Casa Youth Shelter is to provide temporary shelter for runaways and youth in crisis, enabling them to come through the crisis with an increased personal strength and a sense of renewal while in a supportive environment, with family reunification as a primary goal.



WHY CHOOSE US?

We offer a variety of counseling, educational, and shelter support programs and services, such as:



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Programs and Services - Casa Youth Shelter

Counseling Services - Family Counseling

 

Also see: Individual Counseling and Domestic Violence Counseling

 

Philosophy:

Due to the "reunification" nature of our Mission Statement, the agency uses a Family Systems approach to Family Counseling. The teaching of Minnuchin, Bowen, Satir, Whitaker and Haley are used as a basis of training and service delivery.

 

Generally, the family is defined as the client. In many cases the goal of Family Counseling while the youth (IP or IC) is in shelter is to work on the symptoms that led to the youth being out of the home. AfterCare FC will usually focus on the issues that the symptoms sprang out of.

 

 

Recipient of Service:

This service is directed towards the families of residents of the shelter. In extreme cases this service is also offered as a non-residential basis for Seal Beach / Los Alamitos residents as well as the families of Los Alamitos Unified School District students who have no where else to turn.

 

 

Schedule:

This service is provided at Casa Youth Shelter Monday – Friday between the hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Licensed counselors may choose to work on Saturdays and Masters level Interns and Associates may also with permission of the CD.

 

 

Provider:

This service is provided by volunteer and paid Staff Counselors of Casa Youth Shelter.

 

 

Provider Qualifications:

Minimum qualifications of Staff Counselors include enrollment in a graduate studies program leading to a degree of Masters in psychology, counseling, social work or a closely related field. Many Staff Counselors exceed the minimum qualifications by possession of a Masters degree and State of California registration as a Marriage Family Child Counselor Intern, Clinical Social Worker Associate or are California Licensed as a Marriage Family Child Counselor.

 

 

Description of Service:

Family Counseling is a service which brings the family in contact with a trained professional is a structured, timed, closed and confidential session. Each family meets in this venue twice per week while the youth is in residency and usually once per week in aftercare. All family members living in the home are invited to attend and extended family members who live close by and have an influence in the behaviors of the family are also encouraged to attend. Ideally, Family Counseling is provided two to three months following the youths exit from the shelter.

 

 

Goals of Service:

Family Counseling is the fundamental service that allows us to meet our primary goal in of reunification of a youth with their family. The purpose of Family Counseling is to start a dialog between the youth in residence at Casa and the parent(s) with whom the crisis is affecting.

 

Family Counseling at Casa Youth Shelter is provided within the context of General Structural Systems Theory. Clinically, the "client" is defined as the family. A goal of Family Counseling at Casa Youth Shelter is to lower the focus (and anger) from the "identified patient" (usually the youth in residence) and work on the family dynamics that spawn the symptoms.

 

Many times a focus of family counseling is to investigate how the family unit is structured (organized) and to help the family realign their hierarchy based on their own values.