Individual and Family Wellness

Counseling and coaching services offer every person a chance to work on thinking that will help increase safety and stability, increase effectiveness in relationships, increase positive connections, and increase family well-being. Call 410-285-4357 for an appointment.

People seek support through counseling and coaching for many reasons.  The FCC team is ready to help you if you are facing challenges of intense conflict or violence in your relationships. You may see abusive patterns are emerging or increasing in relationships with new or current intimate partners, ex partners, dating relationships, or co-parenting situations. Or you may have ended a relationship that was harmful and want to learn how to develop healthier relationships moving forward.

Help is also available for family members who are concerned about how abuse or violence between partners is affecting your children. Or you may recognize that patterns of abuse have persisted across several generations in your family and want to learn how to disrupt these cycles of violence.

Meeting with a clinical staff person for counseling  can help you create changes to move forward safely. Counseling can help you see past patterns, identify goals to move toward and develop new skills to be more effective in your life.

Family-centered coaching can help you focus on your family goals, including building on strengths, accessing resources, and increasing family well-being.

Moving Forward Group offers an opportunity to connect with others weekly for support and learning. If you have been in an abusive relationship, this group will help you focus on developing creative strategies for coping with the many residual effects of this experience. The more tools you have, the more competent and confident you can be in moving forward towards greater safety and stability. The focus of the group is on being more effective in your own coping and in your relationships, as well as building the supportive connections we all need for our growth and well-being.

To get connected with a group, call 410-285-4357 or email intakes@familycrisiscenter.net

The Children’s Program at the FCC offers a thoughtful environment for children who have been exposed to violence and conflict. Children can grow and learn from connections with caring adults through the experience of positive play.  

In the emergency shelter, a playroom is designed to serve the needs of children ages 0–10 and is carefully organized into five designated areas of play including:

• dress up and make believe
• books and reading
• building area
• arts and crafts
• infant toys 

Dedicated staff, interns and volunteers manage the playroom and consciously create a safe space that offers children and families the opportunity to move forward in positive ways. The playroom allows parents to attend important meetings and programming just for adults.  

Outside of the emergency shelter, additional children’s programs are offered throughout the year to support children’s ongoing development before, during and after exposure to domestic violence.

Project ACT from Abilities Network offers a bi-weekly parent support group that addresses topics related to being a parent, including:

• self-care
• child development
• caring for your child during transitions
• managing challenging behaviors

Workshops and activities offer opportunities for parents and children to learn and practice skills that build positive parent-child interactions. Providing a safe space where parents can play with their children, can help children who have experienced violence, feel more secure and strengthen family relationships, so that families can move forward and interrupt the cycle of violence. 

A variety of Enrichment Programs are available to help all families learn new skills and engage with self and others. Programs range from:

• community living conversations
• resume building workshops
• therapeutic art experiences
• meal planning and preparation classes
• self-care opportunities

FCC is pleased to partner with Art with A Heart whose mission is to enhance lives through visual art. 

Each week additional special topics are discussed in shelter community meetings and advocacy groups:

• dating safety
• what to expect when moving to a new home
• concerns about mental health.

Yoga is offered to adults and children affected by acute and chronic stress. Our program incorporates yoga principles and practices that help develop emotional regulation, stabilization, and skills building. Participants focus on integrating breathing and meditation with a set of physical postures and movements. Elements of traditional yoga are modified to maximize tolerance, build participants’ experiences of empowerment, and cultivate a more positive relationship to one’s body.

The four overarching themes of the intervention are to:

1. develop mindfulness by learning to experience the present moment
2. make choices
3. take effective action
4. create rhythms

The goal of the FCC Food and Nutrition Program is to promote healthy eating while highlighting the importance and awareness around family meal times.

We provide breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner to the residents at the shelter. We emphasizes using local ingredients and sustainable food sources to provide healthy meals that nourish both the body and the mind. In the works are plans to hold cooking classes, help with first dinner at home prep bags and small gardening to be able to grow our own veggies and herbs to incorporate in our daily meals. The hope is that what one grows and what one waters, all will enjoy.