Crime Victim/Witness Counseling (Students)

The agency provides school-based counseling services for students, staff and parents who have experienced a violent or traumatic event which disrupted the school or classroom environment. The event need not have occurred on school grounds. Services include bereavement counseling, crime victim/witness counseling, and student counseling services. There are no geographic restrictions.

Counseling is available to address grief and loss, anger management, self-esteem, bullying, substance abuse and socialization issues.

Events the agency has provided consultation for include death by natural causes, murder, suicides of classmates or teachers, sniper attacks, gun violence on school grounds, and kidnapping.

The Share and Care school-based program provides mental health intervention and learning support to children who have experienced stress, trauma and violence that has impacted them emotionally and impaired their learning process. The program is a long term program that is at school sites between 1-5 days a week for the entire academic year. This program consists of 2 sets of 12 week art therapy groups for children impaired by trauma.

Services focus on the victim's peer group, classmates, parents and teachers who are considered indirect victims who may experience psychological damage and be at risk for long term anxiety, depression, rage, denial, feelings of helplessness, feelings of vulnerability, fears, nightmares/sleep disorders, phobic responses, or learning difficulties. The center utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to provide crisis intervention, short term counseling services, and art therapy.

Therapists provide crisis intervention sessions for student, teachers and parents in groups and individually at school immediately after the precipitating crisis. Additional mental health staff from a variety of community agencies are mobilized if the need arises.

In addition to the services for schools, the center also provides an educational training program for educators and mental health staff about the effects of trauma on children, and presentations and workshops for community groups or organizations. Services are available for any public or private school in Los Angeles County. However, no individual counseling services are provided.