Our Mission

To provide comprehensive family support focused on developmentally appropriate mental health services for children and their families. Foundational Play incorporates play in the child’s therapy in the classroom and in the community. Play strengthens family relationships and creates long-lasting sustainable change.

Foundational Play is based in relationships. The earliest relationships for infants are formed through spontaneous attunement and play. Foundational Play continues to be a theme that is a positive and joyful thread in the bonding process. It is in all relationships across the lifespan.

WNMU Family Counseling Center (2005)

Therapeutic services

Provide

Children and families struggling with issues of divorce, anxiety, grief, loss and abuse. Services are provided by trained staff members and supervised WNMU interns who are seeking degrees in the fields of Counseling, Social Work and Psychology.

Include

• Infant Mental Health
• Play Therapy
• Filial Play
• Family Centered Therapy
• Couples
• Children and Adolescents
• Individual

Early Childhood Specialties

• Registered Play Therapist Supervisor
• Registered Play Therapist
• Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors
• Licensed Mental Health Counselors
• Level 3 & 4 Infant Mental Health-endorsed Therapists

Other Services Provided

• Parenting Classes offered in Fall and Spring Semesters are:
  Playful Relationships with Children
  Confident Parenting
• Circle of Security parenting classes
• Professional Trainings:
  APT (Association for Play Therapy) and NBCC (National Board of Certified Counselors) approved trainings for professional Continuing Education Credits (CEU’s).

Services Provided by

Christina Riddle, M.A., LMSW, IMH-E Director of Family Counseling

I have spent much of my career focused on supporting, connecting, and strengthening families with young children.  Through positions in childcare settings, shelters, foster care agencies, early intervention, and home visitation, I have developed a deep respect and belief in the unique gifts which exist in every family.  I bring an infant-early childhood mental health framework to my interactions and look for opportunities to enhance the creation of safe, secure attachment relationships between children and their caregivers.  I believe in the power of relationships to heal wounds, promote growth, and attain insights.  As a Family Facilitator/Counselor at the Family Counseling Center, I am discovering the joys and benefits of play therapy as well as finding ways to enhance the important connections between home, school, and the community.

I have a master’s degree in social work and am working towards becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.  I currently have a Level II Infant Family Specialist endorsement and hope to become Level III Infant Mental Health Specialist in 2023.  I am also participating in the process to become rostered in Child-Parent Psychotherapy.

Christina Riddle
Phone: 575-538-6811
Office: Glaser Hall 156
E-mail: criddle@wnmu.edu

MariaElena Jauregui, M.A., LPCC – RPT, IMH-III Infant Mental Health Specialist

I am MariaElena Jauregui. I have a Master of Arts in Counseling, am a Licensed Practicing Clinical Counselor, am endorsed in Infant Mental Health Specialist, am Rostered as a provider for Child-Parent Psychotherapy, and is a Registered Play Therapist. MariaElena has over 20 years of experience working with children and their families.

MariaElena Jauregui
Phone:575-538-6343
Office: Sechlar Hall 110
E-mail: jaureguim@wnmu.edu