Goldberg Center to hold open house Sept. 7

Goldberg Center to hold open house Sept. 7September 01, 2006Carol K. Masiclatclkim@syr.edu

The Department of Marriage and Family Therapy’s Goldberg Couple and Family Therapy Center, now located at 426 Ostrom Ave., will hold an open house Sept. 7 from 4-6 p.m. The center moved out of its previous Slocum Hall home in January.

Brightly lit, spacious and handicapped accessible, the new facility unites the faculty of the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy in one building. The department now has a larger classroom with windows and improved access to parking, including handicapped parking.

Another special feature of the new location is its expanded sand tray facility. Sand play is a widely used therapeutic technique in which a client creates three-dimensional scenes in a tray of sand. Using water, natural elements and small figurines, the clients enhance the scenes to convey thoughts, emotions or concerns that are difficult to express in words. During or after the play session, therapists assist clients in recounting their experience, enabling them to identify and cope with negative or overwhelming feelings. The Goldberg Center has a new sand tray for family work, a tray accessible to water and additional figurines.

“The Goldberg Couple and Family Therapy Center is a tremendous resource for the community, as we are able to provide affordable therapy with a distinctive focus on relationships,” says Anne Gosling, director of clinical training in the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy. “I am excited that our new center enables us to improve our services to our clients with more spacious facilities and accessible parking.”

Visitors can tour the new center, meet faculty supervisors and student therapists and enjoy refreshments at the open house.

The center, now in its 16th year of operation, provides affordable, confidential counseling and therapy services to families, couples and individuals who are coping with life’s challenges, including resolving marital and couple difficulties; easing relationship or communication struggles; helping a troubled child, teenager or family; moving beyond family violence or substance abuse; or dealing with emotional distress, such as anxiety or depression.

Therapists are graduate students in the department’s master’s and doctoral programs who are practicing from a family systems perspective, focusing on relationship issues. Students practice under faculty supervision.

With a state-of-the-art facility and a nationally renowned training program, the Goldberg Center offers accessible, affordable family and couples therapy in a supportive and caring environment. For more information, contact Janet Coria at 443-3023 or jmcoria@syr.edu.