Program Overview

Mental Health

Addresses emotionally related problems, learning and school behavioral problems related to underlying emotional issues, impaired interpersonal relationships as well as the needs of children experiencing depression, anxiety and/or thought disorders. Evaluation services include, as may be needed, psychiatric consultation, psychological evaluation as well as psychosocial review. Treatment may involve some combination of individual, family, group therapy or medication support.

Services are provided through the auspices of a fee-for-service contract with the County of Orange Mental Health Services to address emotional and behavioral issues leading to a child’s learning problems in school. All evaluation and treatment services are also available to MediCal-eligible families. For details, please see EPSDT brochure.

Child Abuse Treatment

Provides a combination of problem-focused individual, family, group therapy, parent-education and life-skill services to violence-prone families referred by the courts and the Orange County Social Services Agency for child abuse related reasons.

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)

The PCIT program is a 14-20 week program that works with both parent and child simultaneously. A parent’s uncertainty as to how to best deal with their child’s problem behaviors is effectively managed by the use of a wireless earphone in the parent’s ear. Observing behind a one-way mirror, CGC’s therapist coaches the parent on specific ways of relating to or managing the child’s behavior in the moment — providing immediate and effective response to the child’s emotional crisis as it occurs.

As Orange County’s premier provider of PCIT services, Child Guidance Center has had three years’ experience in developing its award-winning PCIT program in partnership with the Department of Pediatrics at UC Davis Medical Center.

For a short media clip (2:54) of CGC’s PCIT program produced and aired by NBC TV Channel 4 News, please click here. Please follow the link for more details on the PCIT program.