Carlos’ story

Terri Speirs on December 17, 2018

To demonstrate the power of counseling, we share the story of Carlos. We have changed the name and identifying details to preserve privacy.

“Sometimes it feels like my life is a roller coaster and counseling is my seat belt.” ~ Carlos

Carlos has experienced great hardship in his young life. He came to the United States five years ago at age three. He came with his mother, who migrated from Mexico to search for a job and security. But it hasn’t been easy for Carlos or his mother. Sadly, there has been much heartbreak. Carlos experienced abuse by another adult, and he witnessed violence upon his mother. Trauma has long-lasting effects on people, especially when it happens in childhood.

Carlos’ mother did not know where to turn for help. She works the nightshift at a low-wage job and has very little household resources, yet she found her way to a bilingual children’s counselor, Alicia Krpan, at the Center’s through it’s specialized services for children and adolescents, C.O.O.L. (Children Overcoming the Obstacles in Life). COOL is an experienctial approach to therapy, integrating art, play, food, sports, nature and music into the counseling process. Alicia provides services at the Center’s home facility and also at a satellite center in the Drake neighborhood. Both locations provide the a safe, welcoming place for children like Carlos to find hope and healing.

Alicia Krpan, t.L.M.H.C., bilingual counselor

“It has been such a privilege to help Carlos to know that the trauma he and his mother experienced was not his fault,” said his counselor Alicia. “He now knows that he did nothing wrong. In his counseling sessions I can remind him he is brave and beautiful and awesome.”

Alicia employed the use of a therapeutic sand table (more info here) to help Carlos communicate his concerns, and to help Carlos to understand that he can heal and become whole again.

Carlos and his counselor Alicia communicate in English, but his mother only speaks Spanish. It is scary for a parent to sign up their child for a service in a language they don’t understand. It could put the child in an awkward position of translating their own counseling sessions for their parents. However, counselor Alicia is able to speak with Carlos’ mother in Spanish and help her to understand the process. Carlos only needs to think about his own healing, and not how to explain it to his mother. Carlos can stay focused on being a child.

Oliver’s Story

Terri Speirs on September 29, 2017

Oliver is a thoughtful, curious first grader. With a backpack full of school supplies and a renewed sense of resilience, Oliver is classroom ready. But last year was different. He grew uninterested and aggressive. One day he stood in the middle of his kindergarten classroom and screamed. His worried parents knew he needed professional counseling but they worked multiple jobs and relied on public transit. It seemed impossible to find a qualified children’s counselor on a bus line, plus take unpaid time off from work.

This is where the good news comes in. Oliver’s teacher referred the family to the Center’s new counseling outreach program located in the same building as Oliver’s free afterschool program, in the heart of urban Des Moines. His parents signed him up and Oliver met with his counselor once a week. Oliver found a way to communicate his fears through art and play. His counselor taught him age appropriate methods to work through his anxiety. Now, Oliver is back to school and feeling strong.

We launched the counseling outreach program in February 2017 in partnership with Grace United Methodist Church and Trinity/Los Americas United Methodist Church. Referrals also come from Free Clinics of Iowa and the Des Moines Public Schools. We are excited to grow the program to serve more children like Oliver, and we invite you to join us. Will you please give a gift to help more children and families access quality counseling?

DonateNow

If you have questions or ideas, please contact Terri Speirs, director of development and marketing at (515) 251-6670, tspeirs@mindspiritcenter.org.

Thank you for your consideration!

(Name and identifying details have been changed to protect privacy.)

Dawn’s story, a child’s perspective of trauma

Terri Speirs on December 18, 2015

Dawn

Seven-year-old Dawn lost her parents to something possibly worse than death: abandonment. She was able to process her trauma through play therapy at the Center.

Dawn is 7-years-old. When she meets with her therapist at Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center, she plays at the rice table and in the sand tray, choosing a toy baby animal as her main character. During her play, she positions the figurine as locked away and not given any food. Sometimes she postures the plaything as breaking out to get food. Other times she pretends the toy baby animal is rescued by other animals and given food.

Art and play are key to the therapy approach in the Center’s C.O.O.L. program (Children Overcoming the Obstacles in Life). At her young age, Dawn’s traumatic experiences have far surpassed her vocabulary. Dawn had been removed from her home three times before she was five years old, through no fault of her own but due to her parents’ substance abuse and chronic mental illness. She awaits her permanency hearing during which the court will terminate parental rights, enabling Dawn to be adopted by the only real family she has ever known – the guardians who brought her to the Center for counseling.

Dawn’s playtime choices help her express themes of abandonment, abuse, neglect and rescue. Her selections also help her express anger. For example sometimes Dawn assigns a figurine to portray a “mean beast” who “wrecks everything and takes all the food.”

Of the Center's 26 licensed therapists, seven specialize in serving children and adolescents. Pictured below, L-R: Shannon Welch-Groves, Psy.D., Kelli Hill, Ph.D., Doug Auperle, Ph.D., Elaina Riley, M.S.W., Sarah McElhaney, L.M.F.T. The Center also has capacity to provide medication management to children and adults through our psychiatrist and psychiatry physician assistant.

Of the Center’s 28 licensed therapists, seven specialize in serving children and adolescents. Pictured below, L-R: Shannon Welch-Groves, Psy.D., Kelli Hill, Ph.D., Doug Auperle, Ph.D., Elaina Riley, M.S.W., Sarah McElhaney, L.M.F.T. The Center also has capacity to provide medication management to children and adults through our psychiatrist and psychiatry physician assistant.

The counselor interprets Dawn’s choices and creates a therapy plan. The counselor provides Dawn with a special drawer where the child collects and keeps things safely – a jar of glitter, a small doll with a blue cape, several toy baby wild cats, a picture of Dawn with her therapist. Dawn decorates her drawer with her name so that no one else can get into her special place. Dawn is learning what it means to feel safe.

The Center serves 700 children and adolescents annually through its innovative C.O.O.L. approach, which views most youth behavior as a meaningful attempt to communicate inner life. Thanks to generous donors, we will continue to help vulnerable children and adolescents access quality mental health services.

*Note: Dawn is a composite character created from real counseling scenarios at Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center. Dawn’s photo is a stock image.

More about C.O.O.L.

IMG_1047
C.O.O.L. (Children Overcoming the Obstacles of Life) is the Center’s innovative approach to counseling children and adolescents. C.O.O.L. counselors realize that kids have unique ways of viewing the world and expressing their emotions. We view most behavior as a meaningful attempt to communicate inner life. C.O.O.L.’s clients range in age from two to 20 years.
The Center has a separate waiting room for children and adolescents (photo left), plus a paint wall (photo above), a play room, a soft room and outdoor space to take walks and play basketball. Each therapy room is stocked  with bean bag chairs, puppets, crayons, games, paint, toy cars, wooden blocks and more. We are serious about play!
Additionally, the Center offers a full range of testing for children and adults, including assessment for IQ, learning disorders, developmental challenges, Austism Spectrum Disorders, ADHD and more.