Catholic Counseling Service brings hope and healing

by Kim Roberts

By Kim Roberts
Clarion Herald

Thanks to a grant from the Women’s Giving Circle, the Catholic Counseling Service of the Archdiocese of New Orleans has implemented and expanded programs to better serve children and adults.

A child-parent relationship therapy program is well underway thanks to funding from the Women’s Giving Circle, a program of the Catholic Community Foundation that distributes grants to nonprofits whose missions reflect their Catholic faith and have an impact on the community.

“This program is primarily for kids and centers on play therapy,” said Dr. Joey Pistorius, director of Catholic Counseling Service. “There’s not really an exclusive age for the program, because we have some kids who engage in therapy who might be a little bit older than others. But, all school-age children from within the archdiocese can participate.”

Services for all ages

The counseling center not only works with children but also with individuals, couples and families.

The 2022 grant allowed the center to furnish a playroom and get necessary staff training that was appropriate for playing.

“It really offered us an opportunity to increase the pro-bono services that we could offer to the community for children specifically,” Pistorius said. “And, recently this year, we received additional funding to continue that program and expand it to the child-parent relationship therapy program for another facet of the program that Catholic Counseling is offering for children. This is specific for parents.”

Pistorius said play therapy is designed for children who are struggling with social, emotional or behavioral problems. It can help children learn how to express their thoughts and feelings in healthy ways, respond appropriately to the feelings of others and solve the problems they encounter.

With the help of the 21 trained counselors at the center, specific family needs can be addressed and a plan created. Play therapy is most beneficial for children between the ages of 3 and 12.

“This program really aims to strengthen family bonds by helping parents understand and support their children’s emotional state,” Pistorius said. “At the core of the program is understanding how a child’s self-esteem and growth are shaped by their relationship with their caregivers, with their parents. To strengthen this bond between parent and child has really been positive and strong, with positive outcomes for both the child and the family. The fascinating thing about the program is that it integrates real-life parenting experiences, and it combines the therapeutic principles of play therapy and offers practical solutions to common child behavior issues.”

To best serve people across the archdiocese, Catholic Counseling Service operates out of two offices, one at 2814 S. Carrollton Ave. in New Orleans, and the other at 4465 Hwy. 190 East Service Road in Covington.

“Some of the parent groups that we’ve run have been virtual,” Pistorius said. “We did two of these parent groups so far because childcare was a challenge. One group is wrapping up right now. And we are set to do another one again in the spring. Group size depends on need, but we do try to keep it to about 8 to 12 families.”

The center also has partnered with St. Michael Special School to offer groups specifically for their students’ parents.

The center’s goal is to bring counseling to appropriate communities and bring it out to the people to engage in. Pistorius knows it can be difficult to get a counselor to go out into the family homes, but it is essential to increase mental health care in communities.

“We did another collaborative initiative with Mary Queen of Vietnam, and Total Community Action brought an outreach arm of Catholic counseling to New Orleans East and to the Greater New Orleans area, but specifically to the group in this community,” he said. “The collaboration’s aim and focus is to provide counseling services with education and counseling services for mental health awareness, wellness and emotional wellbeing.”

Faith-based counseling

Pistorius said the overall goal of the center is to go out and provide to the people of God quality, affordable mental health counseling services that uphold the richness of our Catholic faith.

“The response has been overwhelmingly beautiful from people seeking counseling services, the support from the community, the gift that we have of our collaborations,” he said. “People really see the ministry that we’re doing and believe that this is a need for our world and certainly a way that we as a faith community can grow and heal together.”

For more information about Catholic Counseling Service, visit nolacatholiccounseling.com or call (504) 861-6245.

[email protected]