Open Paths Counseling Center

Programs: Open paths counseling center meets the evolving mental health needs of the community by providing affordable counseling to individuals, families and groups on a sliding scale based on the ability to pay. A highly regarded intern training program is also provided for pre-licensed marriage and family therapists, learning to become caring professional therapists. Over 11,000 hours of service to more then 800 clients each year is offered in english and spanish to a multi-cultural clientele with little access to mental health services. Services comprise three program areas: the counseling center offers general counseling; another way offers domestic violence groups and individual counseling to perpetrators and female victims; a school program (on-site) provides services to students at elementary, middle and high school levels. These programs benefit those who are unable to pay private fees, most have incomes that are less than $20,000 and pay as little as $15 for one-hour sessions. This work is accomplished by training pre-licensed interns who are receiving necessary hours of experience while increasing the number of clients who can be seen at low fees. The another way program benefits the community by educating perpetrators of domestic violence on alternatives to using violence. These probation-approved groups succeed at breaking the cycle of violence by equipping partners, spouses and fathers with anger management skills resulting in an end to domestic abuse often witnessed by their children. Interns working in the domestic violence program are trained in anger management and violence prevention. The schood programs offer one-on-one counseling to elementary school students who are in need of counseling and are already exhibiting behavioral problems, causing them to fail in school. Most of these students are unable to come to the agency because of lack of funds and/or parental support. Anger management education is also offered to teen and youth at the middle shcool levels, as is a creative writing and arts program for students at-risk of dropping out of school, joining gangs and using drugs. All of the school programs are offered free of charge.