Analyzing the needy

Young Chang

For awhile there it seemed that only the affluent could afford

therapy. Only the Ally McBeals of the world could shimmy off to a

cushy couch and de-stress during lunch.

But Marianna Thomas, director and one of the co-founders of the

Living Success Center in Costa Mesa, recognized that low-income

families and individuals needed to have access to therapy too. So in

1994, she and Cecile Dillon took over the Living Success Center on

17th Street and opened the doors to people who didn’t have much money

to spill into counseling.

Before 1994, the Center was an educational center teaching people

about successful living through nutritional counseling, yoga and

other holistic approaches. After Thomas, a marriage and family

therapist who also runs a private practice, and Dillon stepped in,

the small space on the second floor became a counseling center. Today

Dillon is an advisory member of the board.

Thomas remembers getting calls as a private therapist almost a

decade ago from people who wanted treatment but were not able to pay

for it.

“And I was unable to provide those services,” the 68-year-old

said. “So the idea of forming a nonprofit group came up.”

The fee is $10 a session, which runs an hour, and it doesn’t

matter whether the session involves one person or a family of four.

Donations and proceeds from fund-raisers make up other incoming

funds. On Sept. 15, a fund-raiser titled “Seasons by Design” will

feature certified interior designer Barbara Gordon at the Four

Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach.

About 20% of the Center’s clients can’t afford the $10, but Thomas

and her staff of 10 interns, who are all volunteers, treat them

anyway.

“We never turn anybody away because of financial reasons,” she

said.

The interns are graduate students from Southern California

universities who have completed their studies but need to fulfill

their required hours toward a marriage or family therapy degree.

Services include family therapy, couple counseling, child

counseling, individual therapy, parenting classes and support groups

for women. One project aims to bring mental health counseling into

area preschools.

“It’s a really big thing,” said president of the Center’s board

Ann Guthrie. “People are really now seeing the need for preschool age

children identifying problems in the family. Being able to get in and

do something about it is a really big thing.”

AT THE CENTER

The rooms are nice, but not too nice.

The white leather loveseat is cushy and luxurious, but not as

white as it probably once was. A burgundy loveseat in another room is

made of material mimicking suede. But it’s rougher.

Worn-out throws and pillows rest on the sofas in each of the four

counseling rooms. In the sole group room is a large conference table,

behind which stands a bookshelf with books titled “If I Had My Life

to Live Over, I Would Pick More Daisies.”

In the one child therapy room are shelves of toys, a small

sandbox, mini furniture pieces and dolls. Lots of them.

“Things come from people involved here,” Guthrie said. “And people

in the community have made donations later, when they’re able to.”

Paintings along the wall were donated by area artists for the sake

of providing original works in the cozy quarters.

A large mural of a tree, which hugs two walls in the children’s

room, was painted by one of the interns.

At the roots of this two-dimensional tree are raggedy,

three-dimensional teddy bears. They’re heaped on the ground in a way

that proves more really is merrier. In this room, children can play

with things like sand and toys to nonverbally communicate whatever it

is they need to say.

Thomas and her staff study the way children build scenes on the

sand. Whether they make boundaries with miniature fences, whether all

the little army figurines end up dead in the end, whether everything

gets buried in the sand and even whether the general look of the

scene is more chaotic instead of calm.

“But you have to be careful about jumping to conclusions,” Thomas

said.

Clients visiting the Center often struggle with issues like

physical abuse, sexual abuse, depression, anxiety and sometimes

suicidal tendencies. About 40 clients get seen a week. When the

Center first opened eight years ago, the number was closer to 10

weekly. Now the staff uses a waiting list to control the number of

people they can see. Thomas, who still runs her private practice,

will often work from early in the morning until late at night, six

days a week, to treat her growing clientele.

“It’s extremely intense and hectic sometimes,” she said.

IN THE COMMUNITY

Word-of-mouth is what attracts most the clients here, but doctors

and therapists in the county also make referrals.

When the Center does its own advertisement in the form of printed

fliers and invitations, Susan Neas at Thomas Printers in Costa Mesa

helps them out. She does most of their printing jobs for free. Five

years ago, she even joined the Center’s board.

“I just thought this was such a neat thing they were doing,” Neas

said. “And I thought printing helps them grow. A good look helps a

company grow.”

A recent pilot program allowed the Center to grow outwardly, to

literally trickle into the community.

An intern served for about six months at Harbor Trinity Preschool

in Costa Mesa, where she worked with children using play therapy and

also taught the teachers new ideas and techniques to help children

not having an easy time. The intern also gave therapy to specific

families.

“For us, it would have been impossible to do it without it being

free,” said preschool director Jan Balough. “And for some of the

families involved, it would have been difficult.”

Guthrie said it’s the helping spirit that keeps the staff

committed.

“It’s hard not to feel it, to not be touched by what happens to

the people,” the president said. “It’s amazing how many people, their

lives are changed... It’s just a little center.”

The space was so little, in fact, that a recent expansion project

tripled the square footage from 500 sq. feet to 1,500 sq. feet.

“We had to take over the suite just to meet the needs of the

clients,” Thomas said, gesturing to the wing of the suite she was

sitting in.

The expansion also included a renovation of the children’s room.

Thomas said part of her goal for the Center is to grow not only

the space, but the services offered. She would like to start a group

for girls with eating disorders, to bring in multi-lingual counselors

(mainly Spanish) and to increase the number of clients in general.

“We put our lives into the Living Success Center,” Guthrie said.

“That’s what we’re here for and what we want to do.”

* YOUNG CHANG writes features. She may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at [email protected].