The therapy program at the Children’s Advocacy Center offers specialized therapy at no charge to children and protective parents or caregivers who have experienced trauma as the result of physical or sexual abuse. The child therapist and protective caregiver therapist offer play therapy, individual, family and group therapies as well as expressive therapies including music and art. Therapy services are provided by full time mental health professionals who are licensed, board certified or registered in the State of Texas. Referrals for therapy services come directly from partner agencies allowing therapists to intervene at the earliest point of crisis.

Learning about abuse can disrupt a family’s home life. If the perpetrator was financially supporting the family and is incarcerated, not only is there a loss of income but also a dramatic shift in the family’s dynamics. The therapy program provides a caring support system for these hurting families. Therapy can help shed light on a family’s areas of weakness and can serve as a catalyst for positive change. Upon learning of their children’s abuse, parents often blame themselves and are uncertain of how to best help their children cope. Therapy services assist families in gaining the skills necessary to begin healing.

The Children’s Advocacy Center employs two full-time licensed therapists to provide therapeutic services to center clients and their families. The child therapist utilizes a variety of expressive therapies including play therapy, art therapy, and music therapy to help children express their feelings about their abuse experience. In addition, the child therapist utilizes research-based trauma therapies to assist children through the trauma recovery process.

The protective caregiver therapist provides individual, family, and group therapy for non-offending caregivers of child victims of abuse. Current best practice standards indicate that cognitive-behavioral therapy is an effective way of treating issues related to child abuse. Therefore, cognitive-behavioral principles are regularly incorporated into the therapeutic process.