Family Counseling 

Are you tired of the constant bickering and arguing? Are you concerned about your children’s adjustment to a recent change in the family? The family counselors at CFS can help you reduce conflict, understand each other better, and foster closeness. They can help your family identify the way you handle problems or changes and develop strategies to solve your problems in a more effective way. Our family therapists will also help you identify the strengths in your family and help you use those strengths to tighten family bonds.  

Child & Adolescent Counseling  

Catholic Family Services (CFS) provides a wide range of clinical service including child and adolescent mental health services. During difficult times an objective, professionally trained therapist can be of great assistance. We are here to help your child/adolescent in working through their problems.  

With an unplanned pregnancy a women experiences may emotions and the decision is difficult. Catholic Family Services provides counseling to assist a woman in this decision-making process by considering options that support life. 

Parenting: Choosing to parent is the option chosen by around half of the women experiencing unplanned pregnancy. 

Adoption: You may be thinking about the very real struggles of raising a child and considering placing your child for adoption. 

The mental health of undocumented immigrants is a family issue. Approximately 5.5 million children in this country have at least one parent who is undocumented. About 1 million of these children are also undocumented, while about 4.5 million are US-born citizens. Approximately 9.5 million people live in “mixed status” families that include American citizen children of undocumented immigrant parents. Undocumented children and US-born children of undocumented parents are at risk for long-term detrimental effects to their social development, sense of belonging, educational achievement, economic well-being, and mobility. Fear and vigilance are key issues in the home lives of undocumented immigrant families. 

Parents are significantly less likely to engage with teachers or be active in school or to access health services. Parents’ fears of deportation lead to lower levels of enrollment of their US-born children in public programs for which the children are legally eligible. These include childcare, subsidies, public preschool, and food stamps. Many undocumented immigrant children and youths are subject to racial profiling and ongoing discrimination. They are exposed to gangs, immigration raids in their communities, arbitrary stopping of family members to check their documentation status, being forcibly taken or separated from their families, returning home to find their families have been taken away, placement in detention camps or in the child welfare system, and deportation. 

These experiences lead to anxiety, fear, depression, anger, social isolation, and lack of a sense of belonging. The impact of having parents who have been detained or deported can result in severe mental health problems, such as PTSD, chronic depression and anxiety, acting out behaviors, and difficulties in school. Many immigrant parents work long hours in low-wage jobs and often work more than one job. Even when children who are undocumented succeed and complete college or advance degrees, they are likely to continue working low-wage jobs like their parents because of barriers inherent in their legal status. 

This leads to further frustration and hopelessness as these young people work to escape this perpetual “outsiderness”.  Legislation such as the development, relief and education for alien minors (DREAM Act) has been proposed to help support undocumented youths who came to the US before age 16, which allows them to study and/or serve in the military as a path to citizenship. 

Isabel Oliveras, our Hispanic Ministries staff person, provides education and support to undocumented families. The support is provided via advocacy, case management and referrals. 

Catholic Family Services specializes in working with the broad scope of situations 

in which individuals may be currently dealing with. 

If you want to make an appointment with one of our counselors, or if you have questions, 

please call

Birmingham office at 205-324-6561 or Huntsville office at 256-536-0073.