Catholic Charities Providing help. Creating hope.

Counseling services reach out
to meet needs of younger children

By Judy Bokorney
Web Site Editor

Naples—Catholic Charities of Collier County has expanded its counseling program for children ages three to five years old. A grant was awarded to the agency from the Naples Children and Education Foundation (NCEF) to meet the growing demand for this type of therapy to an underserved population in the community.

Dr. Marta Gallego Adkins was hired by Catholic Charities to provide the counseling services. “Many of the children I expect to work with are children who have been physically or sexually abused or undergone some type of trauma,” Adkins said. “Other common problems that I treat in children are adjustment and behavioral problems including ADHD, aggression, tantruming, and difficulties with separation.” 

Adkins said that parents also receive education and training during counseling sessions and if children appear to have speech or motor developmental delays she will refer them to programs that will provide further assistance.

“This age group requires different skills when treating them compared to children that are six-years-old and older,” Adkins said. “Three to five-year-olds have a very short attention span and are less adept at putting feelings into words,” she said.

Adkins uses age-appropriate books about sexual or physical abuse or trauma or other issues, along with play therapy and drawing to help the young children express what has affected them. “For young children, playing or acting out is equivalent to an adult talking about the trauma that has happened to him or her,” she said. Adkins has set up a play therapy room at the Catholic Charities offices.

“I have always been interested in working with underserved populations,” said Adkins.  “In part, my interest started when as a teen, when I volunteered at a migrant summer school in Minnesota. There I became aware how useful I was because I knew the language and culture. I continued to seek out such opportunities.”  For her internship, post-doctoral work and employment, Adkins served low-income and culturally diverse families in Hartford, CT, which at the time was the fourth poorest city in the nation.

“Through working in private practice in Naples, I became aware there were unmet mental health needs for three to five-year-olds in Collier County and many of the children requesting services were poor and could not afford private counseling,” Adkins said. “That is why this opportunity with Catholic Charities was so appealing to me. I immediately submitted an application upon hearing about the grant that was awarded by NCEF.”

Catholic Charities offers a sliding fee scale for families who do not have insurance or whose insurance does not cover mental health treatment. Because of the grant, Catholic Charities is able to offer services to children on Medicaid for a nominal fee. Healthy Kids and other insurance plans are accepted by Dr. Adkins.

Adkins received her bachelor’s degree in psychology at College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minn., and studied a year abroad in Rome, Italy at the University of Loyola. She obtained her Ph.D. in psychology from Colorado State University, which was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. The goal of that grant was to train psychologists to work with underserved populations.

Currently Adkins already has clients that reflect the cultural diversity of Collier County. “I am seeing clients who are Haitian, of various Hispanic cultures, and white. Keeping cultural traditions and backgrounds in mind during therapy is very important,” she said. Adkins can speak both English and Spanish.

“I am excited to be able to reach children at a younger age and intervene early in their life so their future is bright and opportunities are available to them,” Adkins said.

Office hours are Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Appointments can be made by calling the Catholic Charities office at 239-455-2655. Counseling services also are available for couples, individuals, families and older children from other staff therapists.

Photo: Dr. Marta Gallego Adkins in her play therapy room for young children.