The mission of the Samaritan Counseling Center is to help people in central New Mexico find wholeness and healing through professional psychological services where medical and spiritual resources are integrated as needed. In June 2003, the Center launched its child and adolescent program, the Bertha & Eldon Guhl Center for Children & Adolescents. The aim of the Guhl Center is to further Samaritan’s mission by providing depth healing for young people in an environment sensitive to their unique needs

While the primary focus of The Guhl Center therapists is individual counseling and psychotherapy for children and adolescents, a family systems perspective informs their work as they stay in close touch with parents and other caregivers. The therapists provide a range of services including play therapy; sand tray therapy; individual counseling and psychotherapy; intensive psychotherapy; as well as psychological testing and evaluation. Several of the Guhl Center therapists are available to supervise therapists wishing to deepen their skills with child and adolescent treatment and assessment. The Guhl Center therapists work closely with medical, educational, and social service providers to provide coordinated care for young people. The therapists also work closely with other Samaritan programs, especially those serving children, namely the St. Joseph Center for Children & Families and the Samaritan Center for Changing Families.

The program is housed in the Bertha & Eldon Guhl Center for Children & Adolescents. The Guhl Center is a separate office suite at Samaritan’s Medical Arts location. It is an environment that acknowledges and tends to the special needs of young people. The waiting room is hospitable to children, adolescents, and their parents. The consulting rooms are designed to facilitate the fullest range of expression for young people so that the therapists can best evaluate and treat them.

Partial funding for this program is provided by