CalFam Counseling To Provide Free Couples and Family Therapy

CHATSWORTH, CA — In response to the pandemic and to promote different modes of therapy, the California Families Counseling center will offer free services to couples and families starting in September.

The mental health stresses caused by the pandemic continue to pile on, and the clinical director of CalFam, Randy Christopher, wants to help clients and their loved ones find their way to couples and family therapy, a form of therapy that has been losing clientele.

Over the last 20 years or so, Christopher has seen a decreasing interest in couples and family therapy as more and more people opt for individual therapy, he said. It can be difficult for clients to involve their families or partners in therapy because of the stigma about mental health services, misunderstanding about how couples therapy works and scheduling difficulties in an increasingly busy world, he added.

The pandemic caused many people to stop seeking mental health services. CalFam had a major drop off of clients last March, when all its services moved to virtual platforms, Christopher said. Slowly, some clients have come back, but Christopher still believes the pandemic is a barrier.

"Obviously, people are experiencing all sorts of stresses that are due to the pandemic," Christopher said. He added: "So we deal with a lot of anxiety issues and depression issues and child behavior issues. We do believe that these things are better served in the context of couples and family therapy."

A Kaiser Family Foundation study found that four in 10 adults experienced symptoms of depression and anxiety in the United States this year, up from just one in 10 reported last year. This increase is also seen in young adults: 56 percent of surveyed adults aged 18-24 reported symptoms of depression and anxiety this year. Reasons for these increases included economic instability, school closures and daily risk management, the foundation reported.

Christopher echoed the findings and added that many people are experiencing stress due to their living situation.

"I think people underestimate how overwhelming this strange reality is that we're all living in. that even when we're being tough, and we're going day to day and making it through, there's sort of a low-level chronic stress that affects all of us when we're in this period of not knowing. None of us know what the future's going to be like," Christopher said.

CalFam is part of the Phillips Graduate Institute's Master of Marriage and Family Therapy program, which is part of Campbellsville University. Campbellsville University is funding the free therapy initiative. CalFam has been around for 50 years and was the first family counseling center in Southern California, and became part of Campbellsville University just a few years ago.

While funding could become an issue in the future, Christopher said the program will run at least through the year.

CalFam also offers individual therapy on a sliding scale, which means it is priced based on what clients can afford.

"Part of our mission is that mental health services should be affordable, that we don't turn people away just because they don’t have insurance or can’t afford the services," Christopher said.

Christopher believed that virtual therapy will help CalFam cast a wider geographic net and may alleviate some of the scheduling challenges to family and couples therapy.