Volume 20
Family Options Counseling Announces New Office Hours!
We have always been one of the child and family mental health agencies with the latest weekday hours in order to accommodate the needs of the youth and families. For many years, we have had requests for having some weekend hours. We have decided to give it a shot!! Family Options Counseling is excited to announce our official Saturday hours. We are also changing our “open” time to 7:00 AM Monday through Friday in order to fill that need for families to come in before work and school. We suspect that the Saturday appointments will fill up quickly and we may not always be able to accommodate every Saturday request. Your continued feedback is important and we take it seriously. As always, we appreciate any assistance and support in helping families maintain their appointments.
Family Options Counseling office hours:
Monday 7:00AM – 8:30PM
Tuesday 7:00AM – 8:30 PM
Wednesday 7:00AM – 8:30 PM
Thursday 7:00AM – 8:30 PM
Friday 7:00AM – 6:00PM
Saturday 9:00AM – 4:00PM
Family Options Counseling Job Opportunities!
We have a full time position open for a Licensed Psychotherapists or Licensed Psychologist. Please send your resume and cover letter to Dr. Diorio:.
We also have a part time position open for a part time administrative assistant. The hours needed are Monday-Thursday afternoons and evenings and Saturdays! Please send resume to Mrs. Kristy White:.
Current Events and News
Milwaukee Family Friendly Current Events!:
Bully Prevention and awareness
Safety Tips for Parents:
Learn about Milwaukee’s Problem of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Ways to get involved:
Newsletter Feedback Please!
Drs. Young and Diorio perform multiple roles behind the scenes at Family Options Counseling. One of the role is the regular production of this Newsletter to help education and inform our community partners. We would like your honest feedback so that we have an idea of how useful our newsletter is to you and possibly the families in which we provide services.
Please email or any feedback you have. If you appreciate the newsletter, please let us know as we make decisions about how to structure and produce for 2016. Suggestions for upcoming issues are also welcomed.
Thank you
Dr. Young and Dr. Diorio / “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”
We are certain that everyone has a grandmother, aunt or teacher that used to give that advice regularly. It truly is a great piece of advice that has been passed on through the years and across cultures! If only kids would follow this rule, our bullying problems in schools would be greatly reduced. If only……
When working with children, often times, it takes hearing great advice like this from multiple people and different settings before something clicks and it all makes sense. When a child does not understand, it is not that they are not listening, but rather that a particular metaphor does not make sense! From a developmental perspective, metaphor is challenging. Children usually begin to understand metaphors when they are about 6 years old at the earliest. This ability also depends on how much their caregivers and older siblings use metaphor in daily conversations. Teaching the concept of irony is incredibly important if we expect kids to understand metaphor. If they do not grasp irony, using metaphor may backfire and they will end up feeling like they are just not smart enough to understand what people are talking about when they use metaphor. Encourage kids to ask you what you are talking about and be prepared to sit down and explain it to them with a variety of examples.
It is important for caregivers to break down the use of a metaphor to be sure that they are effectively communicating with a child. There are multiple times when an adult forgets that a child may have not yet learned about a “saying” that is supposed to have some meaning and the adult sets expectations due to this belief that the child understands. The end result is the child being somewhat set up for failure from simple miscommunication. Often times, the child is not even aware that they had expectations because they did not understand in the first place.
In exploring the example in the title, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”, we have identified some extra guidelines to make that work for kids! Here you go…..
When you decide to say something, consider the following:
- Is it Kind?
- Is it Necessary?
- Is it True?
Some other examples of common metaphors used to advise children on how to cope with situations or problems. These were fun to research and we recommend you take a moment to consider the metaphors you may use with kids that require some explanation! Imagine is you have never heard these before ~ how ridiculous they might sound.
“Don’t cry over spilt milk.”
“Grass is greener on the other side.”
“Time is money.”
“The early bird gets the worm.”
“Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.”
“Birds of a feather flock together.”
Navigating our ASAP Programs (Alternatives to Sexual Assault Program)!
First of all, I want to thank all of the folks working diligently with youth and families with sexual behavior problems in the Southeast Wisconsin area!! It is challenging, yet rewarding work that has improved outcomes when using a collaborative approach.
Some of you have worked with youth participating in the ASAP programs and many of you are new to our programs. I am writing this to provide a base of information that may be useful in navigating the ASAP programs and to facilitate effective collaboration between multiple agencies so that the families needs are met.
First of all, the ASAP programs include the Primary ASAP, Relapse Prevention Program, ASAP Safekids, and ASAP Connect. Services specialized for cognitively delayed youth include the ASAP PLUS, PLUS maintenance, and Girls Pride. They all use the same ASAP referral form that can be obtained from our website at
The ASAP encompasses a variety of programs to address the specialized needs of youth with sexual behavior problems. We work with youth from the ages of 2 - 25 years old presenting with a variety of problems related to at risk behaviors, vulnerability to victimization, parent education, family safety needs, and restoration due to sexual abuse within a family. We work with youth that are required by probation or social services; however, also work with youth that are not involved in these systems. We are a private practice and do not have any pre-requisites for youth to receive services. Due to the range of clients within the ASAP, the triage assessment process at the point of referral allows us to individualize the treatment after understanding the specific needs of a youth and family.
Here are a few hints to help those who refer youth to the ASAP programs!
- The intake assessment is important for the parents to attend in order for us to make the most appropriate individualized treatment plan. Having the parents present from the onset also improves overall engagement in services from the family and improved rapport with the therapists.
- If there is a treatment team, the ASAP therapists would like to be invited to team meetings and to become an integral part of the treatment process.
- If there are court hearings, the ASAP therapists would like to be able to send a progress review update. It is important for the therapists to be informed of these hearings at the point in which they are scheduled so that treatment can be structured in a manner in which the progress review is meaningful and comprehensive. Dr. Diorio maintains a master court hearing calendar. She can be the point of contact for this information. Therapists also benefit from discussing the upcoming hearings with the treatment teams.
- There is an internal consultation process within the ASAP that involves regular clinical reviews of all youth with the clinical directors. At any time, these directors should be contacted if concerns or questions exist regarding the youth or families. We have tremendous faith in the skills of our clinician’s but also recognize the importance of case consultation.
office 414-431-4444 (ext. 100)
cell 414-899-8011
ASAP PLUS Clinical Director: Dr. Kimberly Young
office 414-431-4444 (ext 101) / Snow Balls (Cake Balls)
1. Bake a cake of any flavor by following the directions given on the box. Let the cake cool completely
2. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into a large bowl (this is often fun for the kids to do)
3. Mix thoroughly with 1 can of cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together. Be warned, it will get messy but the kids will love it.)
4. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet.
5. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting them in the freezer.)
6. Melt 1-2 cups of chocolate chips in the microwave. Microwave for 10 seconds at a time stirring in between until chocolate is completely melted.
7. Roll balls in white chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)
Stop The Violence
Acts of violence have been prevalent in the news recently both across our country and across the world. At Family Options Counseling, we see the effects of violence on our children every day. These children demonstrate the effects of the violence they experience through increased levels of anxiety, depression, and unfortunately anger and their own aggressive behaviors.
A child who believes it is possible to make change in his life, can be influential in making change in his community. Each day brings a new embarking with an opportunity for recalibration and a reassessing of attitude. Those children who were engaged in aggressive behaviors yesterday, could be the same children who are engaged in helpful, peaceful behaviors today.
From "A Brave and Startling Truth” by Maya Angelou
We, this people, on this small and drifting planet
Whose hands can strike with such abandon
That in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living
Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness
That the haughty neck is happy to bow
And the proud back is glad to bend
Out of such chaos, of such contradiction
We learn that we are neither devils nor divines
When we come to it
We, this people, on this wayward, floating body
Created on this earth, of this earth
Have the power to fashion for this earth
A climate where every man and every woman
Can live freely without sanctimonious piety
Without crippling fear
When we come to it
We must confess that we are the possible
We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world
That is when, and only when
We come to it.
At Family Options Counseling, we believe that change awaits us. It’s time to stop the violence that is killing our children and our communities. It’s time to help each other build neighborhoods where each of us children, teenagers, adults can feel safe and secure from crime. A tough task? Yes, but it’s a challenge that each of us can do something about. We can reclaim our communities child by child, family by family, neighborhood by neighborhood.
Why accept this challenge? Because every child deserves a safe and healthy childhood. Because no community can afford the costs of violence. Because a healthier, safer community benefits each of us. Because failing to act costs lives and resources. Because our children should not have to raise their children amid violence. Because if we don’t stop it, no one will.
How can we start? Teach children basic strategies for personal safety to prevent violence and reduce their risk of victimization.
1.Help them learn and practice common courtesies. "Please," "thank you," "excuse me," and "I’m sorry" help ease tensions that can lead to violence.
2.Emphasize the importance of being drug free. Research shows use of alcohol and other drugs is closely linked with violence, including the use of guns and other weapons.
3.Encourage children to stick with friends who steer clear of violence and drugs. Make your home a comfortable place for these kids to gather; help them find positive, enjoyable things to do.
4.Remind children of simple self-protection rules not to go anywhere with someone they (and you) don’t know and trust; how and when to respond to phone calls and visitors if you are unavailable, how to deal with others who approach or touch them inappropriately, what are safe routes to favorite neighborhood destinations.
5.Rehearse what to do in urgent situations, like being threatened or being approached inappropriately by a stranger or seeing something wrong happen.
Making self and family safer from violence is, for most of us, the highest priority. Work with your own children, with other children you care about, to reduce the risk that you or someone you love will fall victim to violence. / Thank you for another amazing year!
As we begin another year we want to thank everyone that we have worked with in the last year. Both those at Family Options Counseling, as we truly have a wonderful staff that makes everyone enjoy coming to work every day, as well as those at other agencies. From everyone involved with our clients to those who are support staff, you all play such an important part and we feel lucky to have gotten a chance to know and interact with many of you.
Thank you for making 2015 a great year! Looking forward to a fantastic 2016!
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Christina Diorio, Ph.D. –
Kimberly Young, Ph.D. –
Kristy White (Office Manager) –