About Our Community

Board of Directors | Executive Staff | Partners | Speaker's Bureau
Internships | Program Funding | Giving Program

Board of Directors 2010-2011 President Emeritus: Jody Goldfarb President: JoAnna White, Ed.D Vice President: Diane Levy, Ph.D Secretary: Brenda Seiton Treasurer: Kristina Tecce Jeffrey A. Bekiares, Smith Gambrell & Russell Thomas Dalia, AIA, Smith Dalia Architects Debbie Denechaud Slimp, WSB-TV Jody Goldfarb, Community Volunteer Nikki Gugliotta, Community Volunteer Dr. Scott Holmberg, C.D.C Leslie Klemperer, Delta Air Lines, Inc. Amy W. Knight, Kurt Salmon Associates Mary Leight, Leightworks Diane Levy, Ph.D, Georgia State University Brooks McElyea, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Kathryn Mitchell, Champion Newspaper Brenda J. Seiton, JD, Emory University Kristina Tecce, Points of Light JoAnna White, Ed.D Georgia State University

Advisory Board 2010-2011 President: Clyde Tuggle, The Coca-Cola Co. Laurie Buchmiller, Community Volunteer Melissa Devereaux, Community Volunteer Jeannie DuBose, Community Volunteer Rev. Marlin Harris, New Life Baptist Church Dennis Kelly, President & CEO, Zoo Atlanta Roy Kern, Ph.D., Georgia State University Luciano L'Abate. Ph.D., Georgia State Univ. Augustus Napier, Ph.D., Psychologist & Author Beth Kargel, Development Director, Year Up Margaret Warren, Community Volunteer Laurie Buchmiller, Community Volunteer Contact Board Members: c/o Odyssey Family Counseling Center, Inc. 1919 John Wesley Ave. College Park, GA 30337 (404) 762-9190  fax (404) 762-9101

Odyssey Staff

Odyssey Executive Staff Sydney Arthur, LPC: Executive Director Annie Kelahan, ATR, LPC: Clinical Director Sandra P. Thompson, LPC: Director of Clinical Operations Odyssey Agency Staff Melba Bryant: Office Supervisor Brian Fuller, BA: Accountant Susan Stone, RN: Nurse Amy Hayes: Front Desk Marissa Hunt: Front Desk Women's Program Therapists Pamela Morris, MS LaTanya Davis, APC Miriam McGee, APC Clinical Consultants Devon Briggs, MD: Psychiatrist  Helen Coale, LCSW

Odyssey Therapists Ralph Boynton, Ph.D.: Psychologist Margaret Brown, Ph.D., LCSW Bill Lane, LPC, MAC Tanya Alexander, LMFT, A.T.R Tracey Busse, LPC Peter Elkon, LPC Sherry Silver, LPC, NAC Shilpa Shah, LPC Tara Thrutchley, APC Kathryn Hawkins-Truax, LPC Jennifer Wilmoth, LAMFT Rhonda Wilson, LPC Kevin Young, LPC Prevention Program Tracy Roberson, MA, CPII: Program Coordinator Ramona Franklin, LPC Laura Mann, MSW

Partners

Odyssey is committed to the community as a whole and in the coordination of our services with other public and private organizations. We provide in-service training and consultation to fellow professionals and other agencies. Workshops are organized on a contractual basis throughout the southeast. Some topics include: Family dynamics Stress Management Self-esteem Trauma Prevention Solution-focused Interventions Skills Building Group Therapy Substance Abuse Filial Therapy Partners & Resources in the Community:
Fulton County Juvenile Court Fulton C.A.R.E.S. Clayton Co. Juvenile Court Fulton County Probation Henry County Juvenile Court Fulton County Parole Coweta Co. Juvenile Court Dept. of Human Resources Carroll Co. Juvenile Court Fayette Alternative School Fayette Co. D.J.J. Operation Weed & Seed Hope Academy A Friend’s House Shelter Sandy Creek High School Johnson Group Home Austin Middle School Friday Group Home Winston Dowdell Academy Heaven’s Chosen Youth Fayette County High School Dept. of Family & Children		Henry County Schools Private Industry Council Henry High School Pregnancy Center Pike Middle School Clayton Co. Rape Crisis Stockbridge Middle School www.strugglingteens.com Stockbridge High School South Fulton Medical Ctr Fayette Alternative School The United Way Dept. of Tech. & Adult Ed Imani & Associates Home Operation Success GA Council on Child Abuse Metro Regional Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, & Addictive Diseases West Central Georgia Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Addictive Diseases

Many of these organizations help to identify those most in need of Odyssey’s services, donate space within their facilities to hold groups, and encourage participation. Collaborative relationships allow us to respond to the changing needs of the community and offer services where they are needed most. In addition to the above agencies, Odyssey also maintains relationships and receives referrals from hospitals, physicians, social workers, and other community professionals.

Speaker's Bureau

In the Community
• Parenting with Pre-schoolers/Filial Therapy
• Stress Management
• Who Comes to Counseling?
• Building Children's Self-esteem
• Parenting Your Teen
• What is Mental Health and How do You Get Some?
• Protecting Your Kids Around Drugs and Alcohol

For Your Business
Odyssey is available for "lunch and learn" or other workplace occasions.
Topics include:
• Getting Along with Difficult Co-Workers
• Balancing Work and Family
• Stress Management in the Workplace
• Group Work

For Professional Workshops
• Substance Abuse and Recovery
• Co-existing Issues: Trauma and Addiction
• Working with Adolescents and Addiction
• Family Therapy and Addiction
• Family Therapy with Troubled Adolescents
• Women's Substance Abuse Treatment
• Group Dynamics


Internship Program

The Odyssey Family Counseling Center is an approved internship site for Master and Doctoral level students from Georgia State University, The University of Georgia, Atlanta University, Argosy University, and other universities.

Interns gain valuable clinical experience as they complete their degrees. Odyssey's training program lasts 9 months and includes over 700 hours of supervised training in clinical assessment, individual and family counseling, and evaluation.

To date, Odyssey has trained over 150 interns who have gone on to be professors, therapists and program directors throughout the southeast. Some of them are also hired to continue on at Odyssey in a professional capacity.

Over the years, interns have contributed generously toward the fulfillment of Odyssey's nonprofit mission and have impacted a multitude of lives. It is a privilege to have dedicated individuals who share in our commitment to those in need complete their training at Odyssey. A recent graduate of the program commented:

"Odyssey creates space that is nurturing, fun and concerned with quality service. This is similar to what a good therapist does with clients. The environment at Odyssey reflects these qualities."


Program Funding

Odyssey’s funding comes from federal and state grants, including the Metro Regional Board for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Addictive Diseases and the West Central Regional Board for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Addictive Diseases. United Way dollars, grants, private foundations, corporations, and individuals also support our programs.

Odyssey's programs depend on outside sources to operate. Odyssey requests a fee for services rendered and accepts insurance when available, but client fees amount to less than 3% of our annual operating budget.

In response to the needs of the community, there is an increased reliance on donations from the private sector. An abbreviated list of Odyssey’s foundation and corporate donors who have supported Odyssey over the years include:
• The Coca-Cola Company and Coca-Cola Foundation
• Delta Air Lines Foundation
• John Wieland Homes Company Giving Program
• Ford Motor Company
• The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
• Speedway Children’s Charities
• Goizueta Foundation
• William Shallenberger Trust Fund
• Zeist Foundation

The Board of Directors continues to be committed to fundraising to support our mission of making services accessible to everyone.

Corporate and foundation support for Odyssey’s programs is vital to Odyssey's continued success. United Way funding, strong since the early 1980’s, is expected to continue. Government grants continue to be applied for and secured on a regular basis as a mainstay of Odyssey’s overall budget.

Giving Program

Odyssey's programs depend on outside support to operate. All donations go toward direct services for children and families in need in our community.

To make difference in someone's life who suffers from trauma, abuse, family violence, or combat and military related problems and has no means to pay for treatment:

1. $250 - Sponsors five psychotherapy sessions for a parent learning how to stop the cycle of child abuse and become  an effective parent. 
2. $500 - Sponsors 10 psychotherapy sessions for someone healing from the after effects of combat and military related stress.
3. $1,000 - Sponsors 20 treatment sessions for a youth and his family struggling with substance abuse.
4. $5,000 - Sponsors the entire treatment needed for approximately seven clients struggling to overcome the effects of childhood abuse. 

Your support makes a meaningful difference. Many mental health providers in Atlanta will not serve low-income individuals and families who are not covered by health insurance. Odyssey strives to make treatment available to everyone. More than 75% of Odyssey's clients live at or below the federal poverty level.

“If the sliding fee wasn’t available, I would not get the help I need. Thank you.”

“You don’t have to be rich to have problems and it’s good to know help is available.”