St. Mary’s University Family Life Center here to help

By Carol Baass Sowa
Today’s Catholic

SAN ANTONIO • Are you going through depression, grieving a recent loss, having difficulties in a relationship? Has your child been bullied at school or been diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)? An affordable way of dealing with these and wide range of other issues affecting mental health is available at St. Mary’s University’s Family Life Center (FLC).

The training center for graduate students in the Department of Counseling and Human Services at St. Mary’s offers affordable counseling and therapy to persons of all faiths (or no faith) in a quiet residential area located near the campus. “Everyone is welcome. No one will be turned away because of money,” says Molly O’Phelan, Ph.D., FLC administrator. “We are strictly on a sliding fee scale based on household income.” The center is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.

The counseling program began at St. Mary’s in 1975 and was the brainchild of Sister Grace Luther, Ph.D., a Marianst sister. “She was a Marriage and Family Therapist,” says O’Phelan, “and it was her idea years ago to create a counseling center in the community.” Sister Grace was acutely aware of the underserved in the surrounding area who were in need of such services.

Originally located on campus, the Family Life Center opened its doors to the San Antonio community in 1977 and grew to be a state-of-the-art facility. When the Marianist sisters moved out of their convent on Ligustrum into a new building in 2008, it created the opportunity to move the center’s entire graduate program and counseling into what turned out to be the perfect facility for them.

The center focuses on individual and group counseling, as well as family systems therapy, which looks at individuals in the context of the family as an emotional unit. “We have play therapy for children and sometimes for parents and children, to learn how to play together,” notes O’Phelan.

There are 2 state-of-the-art play therapy rooms. Both are for children and filled with costumes and toys, such as soft swords — better suited for less dangerous aggressive action. A child may be asked to select from the many stuffed animals one representing each parent. Is dad a dragon or an eagle? Does the adorable plush turtle that can pull into its shell remind them of mom? Puppets, a sandbox, playhouse and an assortment of other playthings help the children work out their stories.

“Play is the children’s language, really,” says O’Phelan, “and that is how they communicate and tell about what is going on with them inside.” Toys are also of use in teaching a child how to be respectful and play in ways that do not hurt others. Art therapy is something else offered and helpful for both children and adults.

Of special note is the sand tray room, with roots in the work of Carl Jung and dealing with the unconscious. The center’s sand tray is a traditional shallow, octagonal tray table, filled with extra-fine sand and inner sides painted sky blue. The cabinets that line the room’s walls hold a vast array of miniature figures and objects with which a person can construct their personal microcosm in the sand, resolving conflicts and gaining self-acceptance in the process. “It is a way of doing therapy, telling your story but in a very non-threatening way,” notes O’Phelan.

Pirates, angels, royalty and monsters — a seemingly endless cast of characters to choose from — can inhabit this mini-world, along with assorted flora, fauna, furnishings and buildings from castles to jails. “Dad is in jail; mom is in jail. How do you deal with that?” says O’Phelan. “Or, somebody should go to jail!”

One of her most dramatic experiences with sand tray therapy was with a woman she had been working with for quite a long time who seemed to be making no progress. “She was trying to work on her issues,” says O’Phelan, “but she just was stuck. So I said, ‘Well, let’s just try the sand tray. Just tell me your story.’” Picking out the figurines for this, the woman chose a princess, Super Woman, a woman with scrub buckets and a baby — all different forms of how she saw herself. She also selected a bridge. By the time she finished “telling” her story, she was able to see herself in a new way and ready to face the world confidently.

A growing part of The Family Life Center is neurofeedback therapy (NFB). A painless and relaxing experience, it is similar to having an electrocardiogram, with electrodes applied with gel to the head over points of the brain where conditions, such as depression, originate. Viewing a monitor, one can, over time, learn to train their brain to react in a new way to stimulus. This biofeedback can help children with ADHD and it may help with symptoms of those suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD).

“It takes a long time to train the brain, coming back from a real trauma,” says O’Phelan, “so we have a military family program that our military members or their families can use.” Those who have served in Iraq, Afghanistan or in any of the current wars, are allowed 20 free NFB sessions and 10 free counseling sessions. The center offers special rates for military members and their families. “We never want money to hold anybody back from coming,” she adds. O’Phelan also notes they offer a free NFB session to professionals to help them feel confident when referring clients for this therapy.

In addition to providing high quality services to the underserved, the center’s mission is to educate students in this field, with clinicians-in-training conducting the counseling and other therapies under the supervision of St. Mary’s faculty. Masters programs are offered in Marriage and Family Therapy and Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Ph.D.s are offered in Marriage and Family Therapy and Counselor Education and Supervision. O’Phelan is a product of the master’s and Ph.D. programs at the university. A marriage and family therapist, she oversees counseling internships at the center and elsewhere.

Internships at the Barbara Jordan Center on the East Side have been so successful that the graduate students have been given their own room there as they learn all aspects of the counseling profession from a former graduate now a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor.

“A lot of people do not know we are here,” O’Phelan observes, “and there are many people who really could benefit from just coming to talk about their lives or their anger or their relationship with their child.” Sometimes people are scared, she relates, and it can be hard to admit when we do something wrong or we have messed up or we are sad and can’t handle problems. “It’s ok,” she says. “We are here to help. That’s the most important thing — that people reach out and get some help.”

Dr. Ray Wooten, Ph.D. and department chair added, “The Family Life Center is an integral part of our training program here at St. Mary’s University. The counselors in the center are dedicated trained professionals looking to help individuals, families, and couples in the community. We see tremendous need for counseling in our community and want to be part of the solution. We want the Family Life Center to be a value-added agency in our community. Our doors are open!”

For more information, contact St. Mary’s University Family Life Center, 251 W. Ligustrum, San Antonio, TX 78228; (210) 438-6411; [email protected]; www.stmarytx.edu/familylifecenter