I have been visiting the Lucy Daniels Center for Early Childhood from the day of its groundbreaking ceremony on and it's fair to say that the Center has been doing groundbreakig work every since! As a psychiatrist who is also trained at a child analyst, I recognize the unique value that the Lucy Danierls Center brings to our community. First and foremost, it provides direct services to children and families of the highest quality in its pre-school programs. What makes the Lucy Daniels Preschool unique is that it offers children who simply might not make it anywhere else a chance to get back on a normal developmental path through the power of applied psychoanalytic work with the child and his/her family. The Center also offers the primier child evaluation program in the Triangle. It has always served as a beacon for troubled families by providing information and support in parenting and by developing a skilled community of families, clinicians and advocates all focused on raising healthy, happy children. I consider myself very lucky to be a part of the Lucy Daniels Center community and look forward to working with them in the future.

The LDC is an outstanding resource for children with behavioral and emotional challenges. As a Pediatrician in the Triangle area, I have referred patients who have benefited greatly from the services and expertise of the staff. The Center fills a great need as many mental health providers in the area do not have the skills and experience to effectively assist preschool age children. I especially appreciate the communication between the LDC and others who are involved with the child's care, and the individualized approach they bring to evaluation and treatment. LDC improves the quality of life for many wonderful children and their families!

This Center is the preeminent program in providing care for the young emotionally ill child in our community. It is the leader in advancing a deeply thoughtful approach to difficult children, many of which have been expelled from preschool and kindergarten, and caring for the needs of their parents. It relies heavily on the community for operating funds and no child is turned away because of an inability to pay for the highly sophisticated services they provide. I have worked with families and children who have been treated at the center and can state without reservation that they provide excellent care.

As a developmental and behavioral pediatrician I was very familiar with the LDC when it first started years ago with the high quality - and unique to the Triangle - Early Intervention preschool program. Over the subsequent years as a member of the Board, I have seen the LDC respond to the community's needs by expanding it's services through such programs as the Family Guidance Service and Secure Path. All the time maintaining high quality counseling for families whose children have behavioral and social emotional concerns. The focus on the young child - preschoolers - is particularly special as there are few resources in the area for real, meaningful help for these families. The Triangle community is fortunate to have the Lucy Daniels Center for Early Childhood supporting the social and emotional development of our young children.

Lucy Daniels Center is my primary referral center for children and families struggling with mental health issues involving anxiety, depression, and complex and as yet undiagnosed conditions. As a pediatrician in private practice caring for children in the raleigh-chapel hill-durham area of north carolina I have had the privilege of referral young children (3-5 yrs of age) whose lives are filled with such pain and suffering that they are not able to function and enjoy the daily joys and survive the typical obstacles of children. For some of these youngsters the therapeutic preschool and weekly, ongoing therapeutic intervention provided parents has offered an intense intervention that is life changing. For others, preschoolers and children into their early teens, the guidance clinic offers necessary therapeutic support that promotes exploration, understanding and fuel for change required to experience life with greater equilibrium. Regardless of the underlying etiology the Lucy Daniels Center excels in helping children and parents explore, understand, and navigate the unpredictable, discover more stability and ultimately venture out with a sense of safety required to live each day with the balance and serenity required to benefit from and contribute to their world.