Advent Counseling Center

The Center's Purpose

The Advent Counseling Center exists to serve persons who would not otherwise be able to afford professional counseling services. The center provides care for adults, youth or children; and will work with them as individuals, couples or families.

Who Can Use It?

The answer is simple: "Those who would otherwise be denied professional care for economic reasons." Fees are determined by a household’s annual earnings, after being adjusted by the number of dependents in the home.

Those seeking help whose need does not qualify them for the Center will receive a recommendation of two or more highly regarded therapists in private practice.

The Center's Staff

Counselors at the center are either licensed Marriage, Family and Child Counselors, or M.F.C.C. Interns–which means they have earned their M.A. degree in an approved program, and are acquiring their hours of supervised clinical training. Their counseling of clients receives the active guidance and continuous review of Advent’s Clinical Supervisor.

The Center’s Partners

One partner in this joint venture is Advent Group Homes. Advent has been providing professional services to special need populations since 1967. They are best known for their group homes, which offer shelter, treatment and restorative education for troubled youth and abused children. Since 1986 Advent has been serving the clinical care needs of those whose resources exceed the "need criteria" for community mental health programs, but are also insufficient for private professional help.

The other partner in the project is the Saratoga Federated Church, a community church situated in the West Valley. The Care Ministry of this congregation has worked with clinical professionals in its membership to develop the counseling center’s approach. The overhead for this project is underwritten by the church. Advent is administratively responsible for the operations of the center, located on the church grounds.