Center for Restored & Connected Families
OUR STORY
Who We Are
The Center for Restored & Connected Families (CRCF) exists because relationships are where both our deepest wounds and our deepest healing happen. We are a Christian nonprofit therapy center in Orange, California, offering compassionate, evidence-based care to individuals, couples, and families across all ages and stages of life. Our mission is to help people move from disconnection, overwhelm, and crisis toward restored, secure, and resilient relationships—with themselves, with one another, and, when desired, with God.
What We See In Our Community
Every week, we meet kids whose big feelings show up as behavior problems, teens who are exhausted by anxiety and self-harm urges, parents who feel like they are failing, and couples who are not sure they can keep going. We see families navigating divorce, adoption, blended family dynamics, and painful transitions while trying to hold work, school, and faith together.
Many of these families have waited months for help or have been turned away because they cannot afford private therapy, do not understand their insurance benefits, or feel unsure about bringing their faith into the counseling room. That gap—between real need and real access—is why our center exists.
How We Help
At CRCF, we offer therapy that is both deeply relational and practically grounded in skills. Our clinicians walk with people through self-harm, depression, anxiety, ADHD, grief, addiction, anger, suicidal thoughts, and complex family struggles, always at a pace that honors each person’s story and culture.
We serve:
Individuals, from young children to older adults, who need a safe space to heal and grow.
Couples seeking to repair trust, communicate more clearly, and rebuild emotional connection.
Families facing divorce, adoption, or other major transitions who need guidance to stay connected and resilient.
When clients desire it, we integrate Christian faith with evidence-based practice, allowing Scripture, prayer, and spiritual reflection to sit alongside solid clinical tools.
DBT: Skills for Real-Life Emotions
Many of the people we serve feel like their emotions run the show: big reactions, shutdowns, conflict, or urges to self-harm. Our Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills groups give adults and teens concrete tools—mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness—to handle intense emotions without hurting themselves or their relationships.
We offer two group formats in Orange: DBT Essentials, a 75‑minute weekly skills-focused group, and DBT Deep Dive, a two-hour weekly group that builds skills and also makes room to process emotions in community. These groups open regularly throughout the year and are designed to be welcoming, structured, and hopeful, especially for people who have not found relief in traditional talk therapy alone.
Growing the Next Generation of Therapists
Part of our calling is multiplication: not only serving families now, but training the therapists who will serve families for years to come. We provide supervised clinical experience for prelicensed Marriage and Family Therapist trainees and associates, giving them hands-on training in family systems work, trauma-informed care, DBT skills, and, when appropriate, faith integration.
Under the guidance of experienced, licensed supervisors, these developing clinicians grow in competence and confidence while delivering high-quality, closely supervised care to our community. This model allows us to keep therapy more affordable without sacrificing depth or safety.
Making Care Affordable
We believe finances should not be the final word on whether a family can get help. To keep care accessible, we:
Accept Cigna/Evernorth and Aetna behavioral health insurance.
Offer a sliding-scale fee structure based on household income.
Provide donor-funded scholarships that discount or fully cover sessions for those who otherwise could not attend.
Donor support also equips our staff with evidence-based training and certifications in DBT, Theraplay, EMDR, and trauma-informed care, ensuring our therapists deliver the most effective interventions to every client. Every gift from a donor becomes something very concrete: another DBT group spot for a teen at risk of self-harm, more sessions for a child adjusting to a new blended family, ongoing therapy for a parent battling depression, or advanced training for a clinician serving complex cases.
The Heart of Our Story
At the core, our story is about connection: children learning that their feelings are not “too much,” couples discovering they can repair instead of withdraw, and families finding new ways to stay together in the middle of hard things. It is also about the quiet, steady work of supervision, training, and partnership that makes this care sustainable for the long haul.
Mission Statement
We promote relationships, build skills, and connect families allowing each person to reach their highest potential.
Background Statement
Since 2019, The Center for Restored & Connected Families—founded by Dr. Toni Dunning—has grown from a vision of affordable psychotherapy into Orange County's trusted hub for relational healing. Our expanded team of licensed LMFTs, associate therapists, and trainees now serves individuals, couples, and families of all ages through evidence-based care like DBT skills groups, trauma therapy (EMDR, Theraplay), and faith-integrated counseling when desired.
We've deepened accessibility with Cigna/Evernorth and Aetna partnerships, sliding-scale fees, and donor-funded scholarships that meet urgent needs in underserved communities—from young children building attachment to teens mastering emotion regulation. Simultaneously, our robust supervision equips prelicensed MFTs with real-world training in family systems and trauma care, creating a sustainable pipeline of skilled clinicians.
Looking ahead, we aim to scale these services, invest in staff certifications, and uplift even more families toward lasting resilience and hope.
Impact Statement
The Center for Restored & Connected Families will deliver transformative behavioral health care to underserved communities, targeting 3,000+ annual sessions including expanded DBT groups for adults, adolescents, and children—projecting 70% reductions in emotion dysregulation and self-harm urges among participants.
Parent-child relational therapy will foster secure attachments for 150+ dyads yearly, aiming for 80% improved family cohesion. Individual, couples, and family services seek 65% symptom relief in anxiety/depression, powered by Aetna, Cigna/Evernorth contracts, sliding scale, and donor scholarships serving 150+ low-income households.
Supervision will provide 2,000+ hours for prelicensed MFTs, launching new clinicians annually equipped for trauma-informed, faith-sensitive practice. These investments ensure accessible, evidence-based healing that builds resilient families for generations.
Needs Statement
To train compassionate clinicians and expand affordable access to evidence-based mental health care—including our growing DBT programs—we have these pressing funding needs:
Team Training & Certification
Resources to equip licensed and prelicensed therapists with advanced trainings in DBT, Theraplay, EMDR, and trauma-informed care, ensuring the highest-quality interventions for clients facing emotion dysregulation, attachment wounds, and family crisis.
Client Scholarships
Donor funding for subsidized therapy sessions, enabling uninsured/low-income households to access DBT groups, child-parent relational therapy, and individual/family care despite financial barriers.
Clinical Supervision
Stipends for supervisors providing 1,000+ hours annually to prelicensed MFT trainees, building a sustainable pipeline of skilled, faith-sensitive clinicians for Orange County's underserved communities.
Fair Staff Compensation
Support for competitive wages across clinicians, intake coordinators, and insurance specialists, retaining top talent while balancing nonprofit sustainability.
Program Expansion
Investment to scale DBT groups for adolescents/children, add multi-family formats, and increase capacity through telehealth infrastructure.
Operational Capacity
Technology, credentialing support, and admin hires to streamline insurance billing (Aetna, Cigna/Evernorth), reduce waitlists, and serve more families efficiently.
These priorities directly multiply impact: every $1,000 funds team training for deeper clinical expertise or 10 scholarship sessions, restoring connections for families in need..
Geographic Areas Served
We offer in-person care for residence of Orange County, SE Los Angeles County, and portions of Riverside and San Bernardino County. Telehealth makes our services available for other areas in Southern California.
Top Three Populations Served
- Asian Americans/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders (AANHPI)
- Latinos
- Veterans
Statement from the CEO/Executive Director
At The Center for Restored & Connected Families, we deliver affordable psychotherapy to underserved communities while providing essential supervision and training for prelicensed therapists pursuing licensure hours. Our services support individuals across all ages and stages, couples, and families—incorporating Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills groups alongside other evidence-based approaches—and we ethically integrate Christian faith with clinical care when clients desire it.
Accessibility remains central: We are contracted with Aetna and Cigna/Evernorth for behavioral health services, offer a generous sliding scale based on household income, and rely on donor scholarships to bridge remaining gaps.
Statement from the Board Chair/President
Dear Friends and Partners,
On behalf of our Board, I invite you to invest in The Center for Restored & Connected Families at this pivotal moment of growth. Your support will directly fund two critical needs: advanced evidence-based training for our clinical team in DBT, PCIT, Theraplay, EMDR, and trauma-informed care—ensuring every client receives the most effective interventions—and scholarships that make therapy accessible for underserved families who cannot afford copays or session fees despite insurance.
A $5,000 gift trains one therapist in a specialized certification and provides 50 subsidized sessions for children, couples, and parents in crisis. Every dollar fuels restoration: stronger attachments for kids, emotion regulation skills for teens, and renewed hope for families navigating divorce, addiction, or grief.
Join us in scaling this life-changing work. Donate today at restoredandconnectedfamilies.org/donate or contact me directly to discuss partnership opportunities. Together, we build resilient families and equip compassionate clinicians for Orange County’s future.
With gratitude and urgency,
Dr. Toni Dunning
CONTACT
Center for Restored & Connected Families
1820 W Orangewood Ave.
Suites 109 & 111
Orange, California 92866
Dr. Toni Dunning
drtonidunning@restoredandconnectedfamilies.org
Phone: 7146027940