Kremen School of Education and Human Development
What is Fresno Family Counseling?
The Fresno Family Counseling Center provides counseling services to assist in addressing mental health issues for individuals, children, couples and families. The center is also a training facility for Fresno State graduate students, providing a highly structured and intensely supervised training to fulfill degree and licensure requirements.
The counseling center impacts a remarkably vast region of clients, stretching as far
north as the Oregon border and as far south as the San Diego desert, amounting to
115,000 square miles worth of individuals who access their services from a range of
17 different counties in California. For over 35 years, the counseling center has
addressed the mental health needs of countless individuals, making immense strides
in the name of progress.
While the COVID-19 pandemic posed numerous difficulties, the counseling center did
not let these obstacles deter them. They adapted to the new environment by resuming
sessions via Telehealth. Surprisingly, this new implementation increased their number
of clients tremendously. Convenience and accessibility were two main factors which
manifested themselves with the advent of Telehealth.
Dr. Christopher Lucey, the director of the center who specializes in crisis intervention, addresses some of the more beneficial aspects which have arisen thanks to Telehealth.
“A positive that can be found in the conversion to Telehealth is that rural communities who have experienced a lack of access to mental health in the past, whether due to transportation issues or other isolation-related barriers, can now have their needs met via the internet.”
The M.S. in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling program has also found creative
ways to acclimatize to the changing times. The State of California has allowed students
to meet their licensure requirements for the Board of Behavioral Sciences through
Telehealth due to the impact of pandemic. There has been an increase in the amount
of students enrolling in the program with the advent of online learning. Nearly 100%
of students find employment within six months if they are looking consistently. The
program is among only one of three accredited institutions in California that provide
this specific type of training.
The counseling program recently finished a site-visit with its national accrediting
body; Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs and
left a favorable testimonial regarding the counseling center:
“The Fresno Family Counseling Center is a crown jewel not only for the MFCC program, but the department as a whole. From students to the CSU-Fresno’s President, the Fresno Family Counseling Center is seen as an exemplar of a community-based training center providing exceptional clinical services to the Fresno community. The center serves as a valued bridge between the university and the community.”
