Child and Family Guidance Center – Zelzah Avenue

The Child and Family Guidance Center is an organization in Northridge, California, that serves a wide range of needs for kids and teenagers. Selected services can help kids as young as 1 year old. This particular location on Zelzah Avenue is an outpatient treatment center. It’s not far from Cal State Northridge’s sports center.

This guidance center mostly specializes in mental health like individual therapy and group therapy along with psychiatric care. But they do have services for substance use disorder and they take a holistic approach to making sure your teenager gets everything they need for a healthy life. Substance abuse recovery is specifically part of their adulting program, which is a program for transitional age youth AKA teenagers who are transitioning to adulthood.

Along with the adulting program the ECM program here has treatment for drug and alcohol addiction too. ECM stands for Enhanced Care Management. This program is a Medi-Cal benefit that helps teens get support services to set the foundation for their adult lives.

Along with substance use disorder treatment, the ECM program serves adolescents ages 20 and younger. They have vocational services and assistance securing food and housing. They’ll also coordinate mental health and medical care, including care for pregnant or postpartum clients.

Clients at this counseling and guidance center are generally happy with the services they receive. They say that the staff here is compassionate and genuinely cares about helping youth get care and resources they need.