Child & Adolescent Services
The Wenglein Center for Building Child & Family Wellness
At The Ecumenical Center, we are dedicated to helping families become healthy, safe and stable by helping children and teens overcome the difficulties they are facing in life. Our counselors are uniquely experienced in working to help our clients resolve issues depression, anxiety, relationship problems, addiction, behavioral issues, school problems, anger problems, family conflict, trauma and other emotional challenges.
We use a variety of treatment methods that focus on identifying underlying issues, changing negative thinking patterns and enhancing strengths.
Our goal is to get children on a path to healing and hope by learning more effective ways to establish positive relationships, develop effective ways to manage stress and anger, overcome anxiety and depression and improve social skills, confidence and self-esteem.
Our therapists use play therapy in working with children. We also use a combination of traditional talk therapy and expressive arts techniques to help youth explore their difficulties more effectively.
Parents are important allies in the therapy process and can do much to support and enhance the work their child does in sessions. Therapists meet regularly with parents to learn what is happening in the child’s life, share important observations, and give suggestions on how parents can support their child’s therapy.
Methodist Healthcare Ministries grant funding is available to offset costs of neurofeedback treatment for clients 18 years old and younger who qualify. This funding does have a cap associated. Please contact us at 210.616.0885 ext. 200 for more information.
About Play Therapy
Developmentally, children lack the ability to meaningfully communicate thoughts, feelings, and experiences through the abstract means of verbal language. That’s the beauty of play therapy. It gives them a language they can speak, providing us the ability to confront even very troubling problems discover, rehearse and master solutions and adapt those solutions into lifelong strategies.
At The Center, play therapy takes place in a playroom, specially designed, decorated, and furnished in a specific way that enables the play therapist to diagnose and interpret play. Our Registered Play Therapists have a very deep understanding of child and brain development and family interaction and are uniquely equipped to interpret this language of children. In a safe, trusting environment, the child can experience healing moments, discovering and working through even very difficult issues to find places of healing. By helping children find more effective ways of coping, they don’t end up struggling ineffectively with issues in ways that create more problems later in life.
About Child Parent Relationship Training
There is no more important role you play than that of parent! If you have children under 10 years of age, look closely at Child Parent RelationshipTraining (CPRT). CPRT is an evidence-based, parent-training intervention for treating children experiencing a wide range of social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties. This unique approach involves parents by teaching them how to use play therapeutically so that the communication gap between parent and child can be diminished and their relationship enhanced.
In our 10-week training you will learn how to:
- Regain control as a parent
- Help your child develop self-control
- Effectively discipline & limit inappropriate behavior
- Understand your child’s emotional needs
- Communicate more effectively with your child
In those 10 weeks, you will see a noticeable difference in:
- Your relationship with your child
- Your child’s behavior
- Your ability to respond effectively
- Your confidence in your parenting skills
CPRT courses are held throughout the year. The cost is $50. For more information or to register, please contact The Center at 210.616.0885.
The next session is currently being coordinated. Please call The Center to place your name on the wait list.
Testing & Assessment
The Center offers psychological assessments to determine levels of functioning, including intellectual, academic, behavioral and emotional, as well as to diagnose childhood disorders such as ADHD, depression and anxiety among children. Adult assessments are also available for depression, anxiety & wellness. For more information about our testing and assessment services, click here. To view the Signs & Symptoms of Depression & Anxiety: A Guide for Children & Adolescents booklet, click here. To view the Signs & Symptoms of Depression & Anxiety: A Guide for Educators booklet, click here.
On Parenting
We are delighted to offer a series of short parenting videos as part of our education program, generously underwritten by Methodist Healthcare Ministries. The entire series is housed on our YouTube Channel. Feel free to share our videos with your friends and colleagues.