Spilyay Tyrooo, Warm Springs, Oregon
Page 5
August 2, 2 0 0 7
Community Counseling Center helping children in need
B y L e slie M itts
Spilyay Tymoo \
In a room with brightly col
ored handprints covering the
walls and toys filling countless
j shelves, therapy might not be the
first thing that comes to mind.
' But each hand print was made
by a child client at Community
1 Counseling claiming this room
as their own.
Toys, games and art supplies
‘ are the tools o f therapy for a
' young child entering Community
’ Counseling.
J “Children naturally use play
to communicate their feelings,
emotions and thoughts about
. the world around them,” said to
1 Suzan Leter, child therapist.
- “Play therapy, art therapy, and
■ sand tray are all child friendly
techniques used by therapists
across the country to assist chil
dren in the counseling process
i to understand their own feel-
1 ings, reactions, and behaviors in
, response to the events o f their
young lives.”
A dolescents w ho atten d
C om m unity C ounseling are
more skilled at expressing them
selves and are comfortable in
'
talking about their ideas and is
sues with their therapist in “talk
ing therapy.”
Tribal Community Counsel
ing employs two children’s psy
chotherapists, Suzanne “Suzan”
Leter, and Don Schroeder, both
with 20 years experience each,
working as counselors with chil
dren. In addition, Dr. Loye
Ryan, PhD is a consulting Psy
chologist who travels to Warm
Springs every other week and
sees clients in a variety o f ca
pacities. Marcella Hall is the
Adolescent drug and alcohol
counselor for teens.
The counselors see children
and adolescents spanning from
age 2 to teenagers age 18.
Children who seek therapy
with Community Counseling
have many different types o f
issues that they need help deal
ing with such as divorce in their
family, grief, transitions, prob
lems adjusting to school and
making friends, bullying, issues
with nightmares and fears, trau
matic events, conflicts with par
ents and behavior problems.
D o n Schroeder suggests,
“Adolescents struggle with how
to be themselves and still make
YOUTH LEADERSHIP
CONFERENCE
Apologies
August 9-10,2007
9:00 a.m.
I am sorry I broke tribal also would like to apologize to him in the leg. To the young
law on June 6, 2007 by driv Nettie and her family for my sters, don’t drink and hunt.
ing under the influence o f in actions. And I will make every It is not a good mix. I would
toxicants, reckless driving, effort to follow our laws in also like to say I am Sorry for
reckless endangering and vio thefuture. Aaron Hunt.
the disgrace to the Range and
lating the liquor laws. Also by
Ag Department I work un
my drug paraphernalia and
der the branch o f Natural
committing injury to public
R esources and- Fish and
property by hitting a fire hy To whom it may concern,
Game is under that branch
drant. I apologize to my fam
I would like to take this time and I knew I shouldn’t have
ily ib r the shim1- my ¿actions yp yp fft th at I am sorry fQitbfeak- b een hunting.t i i u r i t is •aivery
brought to our family naipe. in g the, law in D ecem her. I v a lu & te td -'ie k w n le a tn d d .
Furtiier I apologize to the would also like to say that I am T hanks -fo r your time.
tribes and the community. I sony to Johnnie L. for shooting Jim m y J. T ohet Jr.
]
1 -
explore themselves through this
thought-provoking process, in a
fun and creative way.
Teens often choose to go to
the therapist offices and explore
their issues in their own man
ner. The offices are decorated
to promote thoughtfulness and
personal growth for the child and
adolescent clients.
Leter Said, “Kids love their
therapy, sometimes it is even the
highlight o f their week. Ending
therapy is hard, because some
kids get very attached to us.”
Each therapist has their own
way o f saying good-bye to their
child clients. “I have each child
make their own diploma, nam
ing the things they changed
about themselves during the
.counseling process,” Leter said.
‘ “Then we put that diploma
in a frame and they have that
'td keep acknowledging their
hard work and change.”
want a mentor or advocate as
sisting them in dealing with peer
and family relationships.^ ■ :
The Counseling Building has
several rpom s set up for
Children’s counseling services.
The play room w here play
therapy takes place is huge. The
room is equipped with a variety
o f toys for imaginary play, role
plays, puppet shows and games
for learning com m unication
skills.
The cabinets hold a variety
o f art supplies for traditional art
therapy as well as making masks,
personal flags, making life story
books and other fun stuff.
Community Counseling also
has a sand-tray room which is a
popular child therapy technique
that is used by child therapists
all over the country. In using this
sand tray technique, the child
chooses miniatures and places
them in the white sand to Cre
ate his personal World. Children
good choices.”
"K ids love their
Counseling services are free
to tribal children at Community therapy, sometimes i t is
Counseling, housed in the large
even the highlight o f
brick building across from the
elementary school.. Often chil
their week . 99
d ren are referred from the
middle school and high school
or Early Childhood Education,
although Warm Springs Elemen The child’s parent suggests their
tary school does not make di own perspective on the child’s
needs and possible goals for the
rect referrals.
Leter suggests, “Most of the child’s counseling process.
Leter says, <<f I like to work
young children that come into
Community Counseling do so with die parents’as part o f the
because their parents are aware ‘child’s treatment team’ to bring
o f the services offered and en changes to the child’s home ex
perience which assists how ev
roll them themselves.”
Often children directly ask erybody solves life’s problems.”
Teenagers attending counsel
the counselors “How can I get
ing are often responsible for
in to see you?”
Its simple: the parents call the developing their own goals for
Community Counseling’s front therapy so that they can find
desk at 541-553-3205 and ask those issues that are important
for an intake appointment to be to themselves and their own
personal development
scheduled for their child.
Schroeder said, “Kids often
Parents have to sign a con
sent for services form for chil
dren under age 14 and the ac
companying “releases.”
Often parents o f young chil
dren provide information dur
ing the assessment process about
the child’s Kfe and experiences.
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