Therapists Seek to Intervene Early in Troubled Lives

As therapists from the Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic sit in classrooms, they watch students deal with their studies, with one another, with their teachers. They are looking for signs that one or more of the children may need help.

It’s a difficult job, said Executive Director Elizabeth Pfromm. It’s not always easy to distinguish between an aggressive child who will mellow with maturity and one signaling for help.

“We’re something of a detective in getting this information,” she said. When the therapists get enough clues, they spring into action, hoping to prevent a child from becoming entrenched on a path that leads straight to juvenile hall.

“Up to 70% of the kids in the juvenile justice system have behavioral or emotional problems,” Pfromm said. “If we had seen some of these kids earlier, it is very unlikely they would be in the system.”

The clinic is a recipient of a $10,000 grant from the Los Angeles Times Holiday Campaign. During the holidays, The Times is highlighting the kinds of agencies its annual campaign helps; the groups provide services to disadvantaged young people in Southern California.

The guidance clinic helps those who have experienced violence at home or in their neighborhood, the abused and neglected, and youngsters who are impulsive, hyperactive or depressed. Their behavior runs the gamut from the mild, such as the clinginess of a preschooler who cries too much, to the severe, such as that exhibited by a disturbed child who becomes unmanageable in class.

The clinic trains teachers to recognize children who need therapy. Its staff works with parents and guardians to help them understand their children’s problems. And the staffers help parents find community services such as housing assistance.

“Many of our families are dealing with tremendous stress on a daily basis, like keeping a roof over their head -- stresses that most of us just cannot identify with,” Pfromm said. Last year the 78-year-old agency served more than 5,000 young people up to age 25, primarily in southern and central Los Angeles. One of its services is helping people ages 16 to 25 develop skills to find and hold jobs.

The organization operates three main clinics and works on 33 campuses in the Los Angeles Unified School District, including 11 early education centers in a program called Building Blocks. The program has been honored as outstanding by the Los Angeles Mental Health Commission.

The Los Angeles Times Holiday Campaign, established in 2000, is part of the Times Family Fund, a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation. The foundation matches the first $700,000 raised, at 50 cents on every dollar. The foundation and The Times absorb administrative costs.

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