Although there are many mental health care providers in the South Valley, one of them may be unique. Besides the individual and couples therapy provided, Discovery Counseling Center (16275 Monterey Road, suite C) reaches out to the community through many free programs.
Executive Directory Larry McElvain was a veteran pastor at Morgan Hill Bible Church, responsible for many successful counseling programs in that congregation. The licensed therapist has master’s degrees in marriage and family therapy and business administration. In 2008, he retired from active ministry to become head of the nonprofit center.
The therapists at Discovery are Christians who hold “a traditional Christian world view”; this biblical perspective can become “a shared focal point in dealing with troubling issues.”
However, every client is treated “with dignity and respect, regardless of religious or ethnic background.”
As a nonprofit organization, the Center is able to offer a sliding scale of fees for sessions, and it accepts many different forms of insurance. There are three kinds of staff members available to offer treatment:
• Fully licensed therapists
• Interns who must accumulate 3,000 hours of counseling experience under the guidance of a state licensed, certified supervisor
• Trainees from area universities in the last year of graduate study who are receiving close supervision from Discovery staff.
The Center treats a whole range of mental health issues: blended family, marital and relational difficulties, premarital counseling, divorce recovery, parenting, anger, depression and anxiety.
Discovery Counseling Center is also very active in serving the South Valley community through a number of remarkable programs beyond the scope of traditional therapy. While residents were reeling from the tragic shooting of Tara Romero and the kidnapping of Sierra La Mar, the Center was an organizing party with the City of Morgan Hill, the Morgan Hill Unified School District and Community Solutions to provide a series of free, family safety workshops intended to address important issues. They covered Internet safety (McElvain calls the Internet “the most dangerous place for kids”) and family self-defense (presenting practical ways to prevent and fight back against attacks).
Discovery personnel, as well as volunteers from Sobrato and Live Oak high schools and local churches, have been sponsoring the Bridge Project for residents of Jasmine Square and Village Avante.
This project, with the support of a generous grant from the Intero Foundation, includes parenting classes that teach practical skills, such as health communication, effective boundaries, monitoring consistent discipline and being a positive role model. For children in kindergarten through eighth grades, there is after-school tutoring and life skills instruction four days a week. McElvain says this combination creates “an atmosphere for positive growth for the whole family.”
Discovery is a member of the Community Asset Builders, a group that includes the Morgan Hill Unified School District, Mayor Steve Tate, Police Chief David Swing and representatives of the Boy Scouts, Mt. Madonna YMCA and other youth-oriented organizations, which meets regularly. Currently they are engaged in supporting Project Cornerstone, the local program that seeks to build support structures for development of the children and youth of Morgan Hill. For more information, call (408) 778-5120 or visit www.mydiscoverycc.com.
Chuck Flagg is a retired teacher with a passion for religion. Reach him at cf****@sv**********.com.
