KALONA

Asking for help can be a scary, daunting task. Sometimes it is hard to know who to talk to or where to start.

Licensed Social Worker and Clinical Therapist Latasha Cardenas at Iowa Family Counseling LLC can help. Cardenas offers different referral and resource drop-in times to help anyone who has questions and doesn’t know where to begin. The drop-in hours are 9-10 a.m. on Mondays and 11-12 p.m. on Thursdays.

“I worked in county services at the [Veterans Affairs Hospital] before I did therapy, and so I offer drop-in hours for people to come in if they’re needing help [finding resources or have questions],” Cardenas said. “[It’s] just a way for people to come if they’re not sure where else to go.”

“People are always welcome to stop in, call or email us outside of those hours, but just know that during those specific hours, someone will be here to help them,” Owner and Clinical Therapist Elisa Lyons added.

Cardenas can help with questions about child development; applications for Medicaid/Social Security; finding community resources; meeting unmet needs and more. To receive her help, all one needs to do is drop into the office, located at 409 B. Ave in Kalona, and ask for Cardenas.

If you cannot make those times, Cardenas provided her email, latasha@iowafamilycounseling.com, and the company number, (641) 777-2774, extension 50.

Group Counseling: ‘Building resilience in young teens’

Iowa Family Counseling LLC is set to begin their eight-week group counseling sessions. The group will first meet on Tuesday, Feb. 6, meeting each week until Tuesday, April 2 with the exception of Tuesday, March 12 when they will not meet. Each week, the times will remain consistent: 5-6:30 p.m..

These sessions are meant for young teens aged 10 to 14. The purpose is to build social support, connection, self-worth, and confidence, all of which boost resilience strategies “that will last a lifetime,” according to the informational flyer.

“There are components of self-esteem; reframing communication skills, social skills; assertiveness, conflict resolution, boundaries, all of that in a group format, with snacks and fun,” Lyons said. “We’re hoping that we will be able to continue to offer a group format, whether it’s for the youth, adolescents or adults. This is the first that we’re offering, and it is in person. We’ll see how that goes and potentially have more options [like] online [in the future].”

They’re doing this because they get many questions which directly link back to what they’ll be teaching at these sessions.

“We just have these set office hours so we can help the community with some of [their] questions,” Lyons said. “If they don’t know who to call or contact, we can be a starting place for that.”

Iowa Family Counseling LLC still has spots available. To book a spot, email tori@iowafamilycounseling.com or call (641) 777-2774.