Our Story
A history of service in our community
The El Paso Child Guidance Center is the realization of the efforts of a broad based El Paso citizens group who realized the need for an outpatient treatment facility for children and their parents.
In 1942, organized efforts were first recorded by this group of El Pasoans. In 1947, the El Paso Mental Health Association appointed a chairman to gather people together in the community interested in working toward a Guidance Center. School officials, doctors, ministers, social workers, city and county officials, a PTA member, and the El Paso Junior League Project Funding Chairman and other interested El Pasoans made up the twenty-six-member Guidance Center Committee.
With the help of Dr. Robert Sutherland, Director of the Hogg Foundation, University of Texas and Mr. Charles Mitchell, Director of the Mental Health Division of the Texas State Department of Health, a survey was conducted to determine the readiness of the community for a Guidance Center. As a result of this survey an eighteen-member rotating board was chosen to start a Guidance Center and to set the policy for it in September 1951. The plans for the proposed Center were presented to the Executive Board of the El Paso Medical Society and were approved. A medical advisory committee was appointed. On February 9, 1953, the Center was incorporated as a nonprofit organization. The El Paso Guidance Center opened its doors on November 14, 1954 .
Our Mission
Improving the health and well-being of children and families in a safe environment through mental health services, education, and awareness.
Our Vision
Transforming the Borderland by advancing mental health to foster healing and a stigma-free environment.
Our Accreditation
The El Paso Child Guidance Center has been accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA) for fourteen years. COA partners with human service organizations worldwide to improve service delivery outcomes by developing, applying, and promoting accreditation standards. COA envisions excellence in the delivery of human services globally, resulting in the well-being of individuals, families, and communities.
Through this process the Center undergoes a rigorous review in the areas of: ethical practice, financial management, governance, human resources management, performance and quality improvement, risk prevention and management, administrative and service environment, behavior support and management, client rights, training and supervision, and mental health services. Receiving accreditation proves the Center is meeting the highest national standards of professional performance.
To find out more about COA accreditation, please go to their website: www.COAnet.org
Our Steadfast Commitment to
Trauma Informed Care
The El Paso Child Guidance Center is committed to being a Trauma-Informed organization. We assume that the people we serve, all staff, and anyone else we encounter while conducting business may have experienced trauma. Trauma affects people in a variety of ways and may have short or long-term effects.
It is the intention of the El Paso Child Guidance Center to:
- Maintain self-awareness of our behavior, attitudes and emotions and their impact on the people around us.
- Practice cultural humility by being respectful, listening and observing for individual differences and adjusting our responses in a way that acknowledges and appreciates the other person’s perspective.
- Maintain confidentiality of information pertaining to the people we serve and inform them about the limits of confidentiality from first contact.
- Create a welcoming environment that feels physically and emotionally safe for everyone by promoting & respecting each individual’s choice & control and building upon individual strengths, abilities and potential.
- Acknowledge every individual’s responsibility for self-care and support individual + organizational wellness by providing opportunities and resources.