family-haven.org

Joy A. O’Banion Building
1255 N 1200 W
Orem, UT 84057

(801) 229-1181

Director

Janelle Christensen
jchristensen@family-haven.org

The Utah Valley Family Support Center helps individuals and families in Utah, Wasatch, Summit, Millard and Juab counties. Child abuse prevention and treatment are the agency’s primary focus. In addition to our Crisis Nursery, we offer Parenting Classes, Prevention Education, and in-home Adoption Respite services, designed to provide families who have adopted children from the Public Welfare System with an opportunity to receive respite care to help them remain free of the risk of adoption disruption. While child abuse and neglect issues are the primary focus of therapy, treatment services have been expanded to serve victims of all types of trauma and their families. Individual, couple, and family therapy are all provided at the center, and both traditional cognitive therapies and experiential models are used to address the specific needs of each individual and family being served.

Professional Counseling

Our expert staff of therapists (LCSW, CSW, RPT-S) provide Professional Counseling for women, men, couples, teens and children whose lives have been affected by child abuse, trauma or personal and family issues. Our Therapy is tailored according to individual needs and includes Play Therapy, Sand Tray Therapy and other approved methods.

Crisis Respite Nursery

Our nurseries provide crisis and respite childcare for children ages 0-11 years. Our caregivers have background screenings, are thoroughly trained in childcare and trauma, and are CPR/First Aid certified. While our nursery has normal business hours (M-Th 9-9; F 9-5; Sat 4-8) for a respite—a break—it is also available 24/7 for crisis situations. Please call, day or night, for more information.

Adoption Respite

Respite services are available for families who have adopted at least one child and who currently coordinate with the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS). This Respite gives parents time to spend with each other or to work on personal/family issues while the children are safely cared for. Respite time is usually provided “in-home” which is especially helpful for children easily triggered by attachment or abandonment issues.

Prevention Education

We seek to prevent abuse or neglect through several educational programs and services. Prevention and personal safety presentations are made to local community groups and schools on appropriate topics such as personal safety, sexual abuse prevention, dynamics of abuse, dating violence, depression & suicide prevention. Parenting classes and “in-home” coaching is available, including for nearby rural communities. Training on Trauma Resilience is available for teachers, administrators, parents and other community leaders interested in better supporting children who have experienced trauma and stress. Child Sexual Abuse Prevention education is available for schools as part of our Empowering EveryBODY program. In addition, we also offer school-based programs for children ages 5-11. Visit our website for more details on our educational programs.

Parenting Program

Using the best concepts, strategies, and methodologies from several parenting curriculums, skills such as praise, attention, routines, values, validation, commands and special play time are developed. This service is available in both in-home and group settings. Individual visits are scheduled on a waitlist basis and group classes are offered several times a year at our Orem location. The in-home parenting program, available in-person or virtually, is particularly beneficial in rural communities or areas where resources are limited. These services are available in Utah, Wasatch, Summit, Millard, and Juab counties Group classes are held at our agency in Orem Wednesday evenings from 6-8 pm. Childcare is available upon request through the Crisis Respite Nursery.