Living Success Center

The Living Success Center’s mission is to meet the mental health needs of our community, regardless of social or economic status, by providing quality, comprehensive mental health services with respect, compassion, and acceptance of cultural and linguistic diversity. We strive to primarily assist those who have limited or no access to mental health services. We do so by providing services within an affordable fee cost structure to enable underserved members of our community obtain critically needed mental health care.

The Living Success Center provides mental health counseling for people who cannot afford to pay private practice fees. LSC has offered therapy by professionally trained and supervised volunteers for children, families, couples, and individuals for over 25 years at the same location. In addition to psychotherapy, we have parenting classes in English and Spanish, and groups for children. We are entering our 2nd generation of leadership in 2018 with the retirement of founder and long-time executive director Marianna Thomas, and appointment of Annette Smith, L.M.F.T, L.P.C.C.

Living Success Center has created affordable counseling for all. No one is turned away for financial reasons.The need for these services has increased greatly in the last few years because of the economic downturn. In 2011 4,686 counseling hours were logged. In 2012, 5,514 hours were logged, an increase of 18%. To provide services for the increase in counseling the staff has been expanded to 32. We now have a culturally diverse staff with five Spanish-speaking counselors, as well as counselors who speak Vietnamese, Farsi, Arabic, Japanese and Russian. Special groups were created for survivors of sexual abuse, Spanish speaking parents and families with eating disorders.

We need donations, we need eager and educated volunteers to be trained and to learn while doing, and we need people who are troubled by emotional issues to come to us.

Orange County, Los Angeles County and Riverside County

 I've been involved with the Center since 2001. Over the years I've been honored to watch the Center grow, help more people and become involved in its' communities. Helping people improve their lives and become better partners, workers and community members is the goal of the Center. We plan to continue helping even more in the next 27 years.

During my association with Living Success Center, I continue to be impressed by the dedication and skills of the clinicians. They deal with critical issues and donate many hours to the disadvantaged people of Orange County who come to the Living Success Center.