for 52-sessions of group psychoeducation to learn ways to eliminate family violence.
Group counseling or Individual Sessions using various cognitive-behavioral techniques (CBT)
Group therapy is frequently used in conjunction with other treatments and services as a method for addressing specific issues. The benefits of group therapy include:
- Providing members with opportunities to ventilate feelings in a safe environment and receive feedback from others experiencing similar problems.
- Providing children with opportunities to improve their social skills, develop satisfactory interpersonal relationships, increase empathy, establish social support systems, increase self-awareness and self-esteem, and develop problem-solving skills.
Groups can be a helpful and appropriate therapeutic modality for children, adolescents, parents, offenders, and non-offending parents. Certain issues, such as stigmatization and shame, isolation, and poor self-esteem, are especially amenable to group treatment. In group therapy, children and adolescents can learn that their experiences and feelings are shared by others, thereby correcting erroneous beliefs and cognitive distortions that result in feelings of stigma and shame.
Group therapy is contraindicated when an individual is extremely disturbed, is unable to share the attention of the therapist with others, cannot verbally express his or her feelings, or is involved in a crisis situation that requires one-to-one support.
Monitored Supervision Services - Meets California Court standards. See the link on the website. We are capable of handing Hig Conflict and High Risk cases. We HAVE AN OFFICE - not just in the field.
Therapeutic Type or Regular Visit Supervision type (In or Out of Office). Meets Court requirements.
Therapy in a confidential setting – Adults and Children.
Expert Witness Testimony/ Advice in Simi Valley, CA
Mr. Scott Barrella, MS LMFT has been a licensed therapist in California since 1995. He started Cornerstone Counseling Center in 1997 and wrote the evidence-based curricula for several of the court-approved programs. These include Parenting, High-Conflict Coparenting, Anger Management and Batterers Intervention programs. He also has been a respected trainer and consultant for the Ventura Probation Department, Ventura Family Court Mediators, and CAMFT organization for over two decades. Mr. Barrella is designated as an “Expert Witness” in the area of Domestic Violence and Reunification in both Los Angeles and Ventura County Family Courts. He is a long-standing member of the City of Simi Valley Taskforce on Homelessness and the Ventura County Continuum of Care Team, both of which address housing and homelessness. He has diagnosed and treated thousands of families with complex family dynamic issues and is an EAP Provider for Cigna Healthcare. He was an instructor at CSUN and CSUCI in the Masters in Counseling programs. Subjects taught included law and ethics, family intervention strategies, diagnostic interviewing, and domestic violence treatment. He is a CAMFT Member and conducts his private practice as a marriage and family therapist in Ventura and Los Angeles County. He has practiced in the Ventura County area since 1997.
For directions to our center in Simi Valley, CA click here
NOTE: Counselors are Mandated Reporters of Abuse: Protect Children and Dependent Adults and Elders From Abuse - See link to Reporting Rules.
For in-person counseling - see COVID 19 Rules Form. Bring to session.
805-390-6384 
