A Summer of Workshops at Samaritan Counseling Center

The Samaritan Counseling Center is preparing for the warm Summer months with a brand new collection of workshops. Starting in June, we will be conducting a Creative Journaling Workshop for women. During this four week course, participants will learn the power of journaling with others. Journaling is a way of telling your story, exploring your dreams, finding peace, discovering your passions, and nurturing your inner creativity. No creative artistic experience or talent is needed. The Samaritan Counseling Center is also offering groups that will be geared towards adolescents. Out licensed counselors will be conducting a Girls’ Wellness Group for girls ages 11 to 14. The theme of the group is “You’re an Original” and will work to promote healthy self esteem in young girls. Tween girls will also have the opportunity to take part in our Friendship Connections group. In this workshop, young girls will be able to understand the importance of relationships and connections to friends. Anger Management groups for adolescents are going to be available this summer, as well. There will be two separate sessions for ages 8 to 10 and 11 to 14. Finally, Samaritan Counseling will be addressing caregiver burnout with our Caring for the Caregiver workshop. This group will learn about self care and how to receive adequate support. All of these workshops will be held at The Presbyterian Church, Sewickley. Please visit our upcoming events page to view all of the details for these exciting opportunities!

New Additions to the Samaritan Counseling Staff

The staff at Samaritan Counseling Center continues to grow and expand. Rebecca de Vries has been hired as a member of our Counseling staff. Rebecca is a Licensed Professional Counselor as well as a National Certified School Psychologist. She has experience counseling individuals with mood disorders such as depression or bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, difficulty with drugs and/or alcohol, and other problematic behaviors. Rebecca has also helped children and adolescents with personal, home, social and school difficulties. She continues to further her education by pursuing a Doctoral Degree in School Psychology at Duquesne University. Rebecca will be seeing clients in our Butler satellite office located on East Jefferson Street.

To learn more about Rebecca de Vries and the rest of the team at the Samaritan Counseling Center, visit our staff information page here. Also, check back in the upcoming weeks for an exciting announcement on our blog about Samaritan Counseling Center’s expansion in the Pittsburgh area!

A New Year at Samaritan

As the Samaritan Counseling Center prepares for another exciting year of mental and spiritual outreach, we would also like to look back on the outstanding progress our Center made in 2010. The therapists of the Samaritan Counseling Center were able to conduct nearly 4,500 sessions in 2010, which represents a 13% increase from the previous year. The Samaritan Counseling Center opened a new office in the Mt. Lebanon area to extend our services in Western Pennsylvania even further. This satellite location is the first office to offer our extraordinary care in the South Hills region of Pittsburgh. Five new staff members joined our team as part of Samaritan’s expansion. In August of 2010, the Samaritan Counseling Center held a Golf Outing that yielded an excellent turnout. We were able to raise $41,000 to assist those in need of our counseling services. The growth of the Samaritan Counseling Center in the past year demonstrates not only the success of Samaritan in Western Pennsylvania, but also the growing need for our faith-based counseling services. Members of our staff continue to participate and lead outreach programs in the Pittsburgh area and its surroundings. Pastors’ Breakfasts were held at three of our locations and will continue to be held in 2011. Also, the Center was represented in 2010 at several church and professional summits. Another sign of Samaritan’s growth is the new website you are currently visiting. A considerable amount of work was put in to create a place online to inform and educate on Samaritan’s goals and position as a faith-based non-profit organization. As successful as 2010 was for the Samaritan Counseling Center, we anticipate an even brighter new year for our center. We encourage you to sign up for our newsletter to be sent directly to your email here so you can be up-to-date on the exciting happenings to come for the Samaritan Counseling Center. Also, check back to our blog to hear more about our upcoming events!