Mental Health

1 in 6 U.S. Children has a treatable mental health disorder.1

We help children and their families develop coping skills and heal from distressing events.

Too many children experience times in their lives when their emotional health is harmed by circumstances beyond their control. Our Mental Health Services offer children and their families an opportunity to heal, develop resilience and rebuild emotionally healthy lives. The types of services offered include family, individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, psychological testing, medication management, and case management.

Children come to us facing challenges ranging from anxiety, depression, behavioral disorders, and other mental health issues. We work with children who have experienced trauma dealing with the consequences of events ranging from parent abandonment to sexual abuse.

mental health programs los angeles ca

Our Impact

We help children and their families heal, develop resilience and build emotionally healthy lives.

1330

Families Served

1564

Youth Served

59%

of clients met their treatment goals

54%

of clients reported anxiety/depression improvement

Our Services

In our work, a client and their family may experience a “crisis”. A crisis is often defined as a situation in which the individual (or family) is unable to effectively implement problem solving or other coping skills which can then produce emotional, mental, physical or behavioral distress. A crisis can occur in areas such as school, the client’s home and in the community. Crisis Intervention is the method, or therapeutic tools, used to offer short term help to those experiencing a crisis. The goal of providing interventions is to help stabilize the situation, ensure the child is safe, and return the client and/or family back to a place of utilizing successful coping skills. Sometimes, crisis intervention may include individual therapy, psychiatric hospitalization, law enforcement or Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) involvement, or identifying and locating other community resources that can provide further assistance.

Outpatient mental health services are interventions provided by clinical staff (i.e. individual, family or group therapy) to promote successful home, school and community functioning, as well as mood and behavior stabilization. These services begin with the completion of a bio-psychosocial assessment which highlights areas needing clinical attention. Some aspects addressed by these services include trauma, depression, anxiety, anger, and self-harm behaviors. Our outpatient mental health services consist of various treatment methods including the use of evidence-based practices such as Managing and Adapting Practice, Individual Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. In addition, our goal is to work not only with the individual client, but also his/her natural supports in an effort to promote a network of support that can assist with the client achieving success with his/her goals for treatment. We believe participation of the caregiver is critical to the overall success of the treatment plan.

The Whole Child was selected by the LA County Department of Mental Health as the exclusive provider in SPA 7 to offer early psychosis assistance for youth ages 12-25. Powerful Initiatives for Early Recovery (PIER) is designed to provide early treatment for youth who pose a clinical-high-risk of developing severe mental illness, such a schizophrenia and psychosis. By detecting and treating patients at the onset of psychosis, negative impact of psychosis may be mitigated. The PIER program assists youth and families to increase performance in all areas of life by building coping skills, reducing stress and implementing problem-solving techniques.

While the majority of mental health services are offered at a client’s home, these services can also be introduced on-site in other locations in the community, including a client’s school. The Whole Child has collaborations with several school districts in the surrounding communities including Montebello Unified School District, East Whittier School District, South Whittier School District, Whitter Union High School District, Whitter City School District, Little Lake School District, El Rancho Unified School District, Los Nietos School District, Lowell Joint School District and Norwalk/La Mirada School Districts.

A therapist will work with parents and children together to address behavioral and emotional concerns. Services can be delivered in the home to help families overcome disruptive behavior, heal from traumatic experiences and soothe emotional distress. Your child may benefit from services if any of the following are present: excessive crying, difficulty feeding or sleeping, nightmares or fears, significant problems in social interactions with peers, siblings or adults at home or in daycare/preschool, extreme anger or aggression, exposure to violence or trauma in the home/community or family stress (financial, divorce, homelessness, death). Families can self refer by contacting our intake department.

Therapeutic services for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their caregivers include the following Evidence Based Practices; Child-Parent Psychotherapy, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, The Incredible Years, and Positive Parenting Program. These programs are designed to nurture the relationship between the child and their caregiver. It's that critical relationship that is the foundation for behavioral change.

For more information on other Parent Enrichment programs, please visit our Birth to 5 page.

Full Service Partnership (FSP) is an intensive in-home mental health service for children (FSP-Child), Transitional Age Youth (FSP-TAY) and their families who are involved in multiple service systems, such as the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), Probation, and Special Education. Participants in this program qualify for a higher level of care due to their mental health needs such as a history of inpatient psychiatric care and/or residential treatment care. Program services rendered include Rehabilitative Mental Health Services, Target Case Management Services, and Medication Support Services. TWC utilizes a comprehensive family team approach to help with your child and/or teen's challenges in various environments including home, school and community. Referrals are made by the Department of Mental Health (DMH), schools, and other community agencies.

Family Preservation (FP) provides mental health services for children and families who are current participants of the DCFS Family Preservation Program.

Multidisciplinary Assessment Team (MAT) is a comprehensive mental health assessment program for children recently detained by the DCFS. MAT assessments are conducted throughout Los Angeles County.

Specialized Foster Care Services (SFCS) are comprehensive mental health services for children and adolescents currently involved with the foster care system in Los Angeles County due to issues of child abuse, referrals are made directly by DCFS.

Sometimes during mental health treatment, it may be determined that a client could benefit from a psychiatric evaluation to explore the introduction of medication support as a tool to stabilize mood and behavior. During this time, an evaluation will be conducted by a Board licensed psychiatrist who can assess and provide information regarding the use of psychiatric medication and facilitate ongoing medication support, education and management.

In addition to a psychiatric evaluation, it may also be determined that a client could benefit from a psychological evaluation with the purpose of identifying/clarifying a mental health diagnosis, assessing potential developmental and cognitive challenges, as well as implementing tests to measure cognitive functioning. The psychological evaluation is conducted by a Board licensed psychologist who will then offer feedback and work with your clinician on a plan of action to assist the client with meeting their treatment goals.

In addition to mental health services, clients of The Whole Child may also receive “case management” services which are characterized as building linkages to community resources. Linkages to resources can be provided as direct referrals to outside agencies or community based programs that offer the client and his/her family connection to much needed information or direct/tangible support. Examples of case management linkages include: connecting the client and his/her family to a food bank, assisting with finding legal resources, locating programs to help with housing, and application for benefits that provide emergency financial assistance. The Whole Child employs case managers to assist with these linkages and to promote a sense of support and connectedness to resources in the community.

Possible signs that your child may benefit from therapy include

  • Episodes of sadness, crying bouts, depression
  • Excessive anger, aggression, bedwetting
  • Learning or attention challenges
  • Unexplained physical complaints (headaches, stomachaches)
  • A sudden drop in school grades
  • Changes in appetite or sleeping patterns
  • Signs of alcohol or drug abuse
  • Anxiety, worry or fear
  • Exposure to violence
  • Family stress including separation, homelessness, loss of employment, death, illness
  • Trauma including neglect, sexual or physical abuse
  • Trouble adjusting to a new school or neighborhood
  • Socialization challenges
  • Disruption at home or school

Top 5 Mental Health Diagnosis Treated at The Whole Child

child Depression, suicide preventions, and Mental Health in Whittier CA

We utilize Evidence Based Practices (EBP’s)

An Evidence Based Practice is a treatment practice that has been verified to be an effective way to change the mental health functioning of children and youth.

Trauma Focused – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) – intervention focused on assessing and treating trauma related symptoms such as post-traumatic stress, depression or anxiety in clients ages 4 to 18 years.

Individual Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Ind CBT) – intervention focused on clients dealing with symptoms of depression, anxiety or trauma to help improve their daily functioning in clients 16 years or older.

Seeking Safety – intervention focused on a history of trauma or substance abuse with the goal of increasing safety and coping skills in clients 13 and up.

Triple P – Positive Parenting Program (PPP) – intervention focused on helping parents deal with challenging behaviors in their child(ren) from birth to 12 years (standard curriculum) and 13 to 16 years (standard teen curriculum).

Managing and Adapting Practice (MAP) – intervention for children with diverse mental health symptoms aimed to improve treatment outcomes based on research supported treatment for clients 0 to 24 years.

Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) – intervention for children exposed to trauma, abuse, domestic violence, etc. with a focus on the impact of trauma on the parent-child relationship and the goal to promote a healthy attachment between the parent and child by intervening early in the relationship for clients ages birth to 5 years.

Incredible Years (IY) – parenting program which addresses parents’ use of praise and positive interaction with their children birth to 1 year and addresses disruptive behaviors that interfere with functioning at home and school environments for clients 2 to 8 years.

Aggression Replacement Therapy (ART) – intervention based on social learning and cognitive behavioral theories for at-risk youth who exhibit aggressive or antisocial behavior that incorporates skill-streaming, anger-control training and training in moral reasoning for clients 12 to 17 years (skill-streaming only for clients 5 to 12 years).

Andres, Mental Health Client

Our Stories Matter

Before coming to The Whole Child, I was going through a tough time at home. I was in fear and “always on my toes.” My family had a difficult time accepting what I was going through.

In the beginning of receiving help from The Whole Child, I thought therapy was for crazy people. As time went by, I became more comfortable with asking for help and getting help. My therapist helped me to grow as a person, helped me feel safe, feel secure and understand what would get me in trouble and keep me out of trouble. My family noticed I was growing into a young man.

Since coming to The Whole Child, I have learned that being afraid, sad, and angry is normal, and that I have to talk about my feelings. I’ve been honest, nicer, and forgiving to those around me. I am motivated to see what my future will be like and to do things I’ve never done before. I want to do good for myself and be proud of what I can accomplish. No matter what life throws at you, there’s always hope.

— Andres, Mental Health Client

We can do more with your help!

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For more information or to inquire about services

Please contact our Intake Department at 562.692.0383.

Please note there is an intake process to request services that takes place over the phone. We will return messages within 72 hours (3 business days).
Families seeking help can also call 211 LA County, the county information and referral line where families will be referred to the closest Regional Family Solutions Center (FSC), where the situation will be assessed by staff and begin the process of accessing services.

Funding Partners

department of mental health

About 211 LA County

211 LA County is Los Angeles County’s information and referral service, offering confidential services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in English, Spanish and over 140 more languages. Services are also available to individuals with hearing impairments.
If this is a medical emergency or you are in need of immediate crisis support, please contact 911 or a crisis hotline in your area.

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