A place that clients have referred to as home has been one of the glowing accolades that Tiffany Zarifkar of Mount Vernon Family Counseling has heard of the new spaces for the business located along Second Avenue North in Mount Vernon.
Zarifkar bought the space in July 2020, and was a recipient of a $75,000 challenge grant from Iowa Economic Development Authority for her plans to remodel the space back in October. Sunday, Oct. 24, the center was holding a trunk or treat open house in the newly remodeled space, to give an opportunity for members of the community to see the space and meet with the counselors as well.
“Our goal was to have the major construction and remodeling begin in November,” Zarifkar said. “That got delayed because of derecho and contractors being too busy.”
The counseling services officially moved to the space at the end of December, but with most counseling happening in online spaces at the time, clients didn’t see a change. Beginning in January, the hard remodel of the space took place.
“This is one of the first spaces where we’ve actually been able to shape into the space we need for our counseling,” Zarifkar said. “So many of the other spaces we were limited by the space we were renting to try and fit our counseling offices and services. This is one we created with our specialization clinics in mind as an important part of that space.”
Those specializations include a fair play room, which is designed for people with attachment issues and a person-controlled playroom, where children can access toys that can represent their life.
“Children at times may not be incredibly verbal, so having these forms of play and other ways to get them to open up on their terms is very important,” Zarifkar said.
Those rooms are shared spaces for all four therapists at Mount Vernon Family Counseling to use with any of their clients. Each of the four therapists also have their own office space in the center.
Along with Tiffany Zafrikar are the other three therapists at the center.
Alexi Howell is a licensed marriage and family therapist, on top of her play therapy certification.
“What I enjoy most about being a therapist is the connection that I find with people and the difference I can make in their lives in dealing with an issue,” Howell said.
Rebecca Lewis is also a certified marriage and family therapy counselor, as well as a certified play therapy counselor, especially for children on the autism spectrum.
“What I love most is being able to show people the good things I see and being able to help people build those strengths,” Lewis said.
Maddy Burnham is the newest counselor at the space, starting work with Mount Vernon Family Counseling this October.
“I was initially interested in teaching as a career, because of the possibility of 1 to 1 connections you get with students,” Burnham said. “As I took classes in psychology, though, I found that fit that 1 to 1 connection even better.”
Burnham is working in her play therapy and substance use certifications.
Aside from the office space for the four counselors, the space also has a waiting room and a functional kitchen.
“I look at that kitchen space not just as a break room for our staff members, but also as a place where we can work with our clients, too,” Zarifkar said. “Things like making a favorite recipe or baking cookies as a way to break the ice with some of our clients who struggle with talking to have a different environment to get to that counseling session.”
In her own office, Zarifkar caters to the clients she sees, with space reserved for adults and teenagers, as well as space children would be comfortable visiting with a counselor in.
She noted all of the therapists have been trained in play therapy, allowing them to work with youth at a young age.
The remodel just passed inspections in September.
“I chose contractors that wouldn’t have an issue with me working alongside,” Zarifkar said. “I could learn a little bit about this building alongside those people. I helped build walls, mud plaster and helped lay down all of the hardwood floors in this space.”
Zarifkar noted that working on the building was one of the ways she got through the year 2020, as the number of cases and needs for counselors and therapists grew immensely.
“We would hear so much of people’s stories and struggles in the midst of the pandemic, that it was hard to hear all that pain without having an outlet,” Zarifkar said. “That made this office remodel important and a safe space for me to have an outlet, be that hammering away a wall or painting and repainting a wall.”
That’s where the decoration and feel of the space have had many calling these spaces home, as Zafrikar and the other counselors paid attention to the feel of the rooms to ensure it felt safe — like a sanctuary
Most of the sessions have been virtual, rather than face-to-face meetings, which the remodel of the current space has allowed.
On Sunday, Oct. 24, Mount Vernon Family Counseling had a trunk or treat at their office space in uptown Mount Vernon.
Zarifkar denoted that experience as the best of both worlds.
“We’d originally envisioned doing a block party and closing off the street outside for an afternoon to welcome people to the space, but that only gets them to the exterior of the building,” Zarifkar said. “With this Trunk or Treat event, we’re able to show off our offices and allow people to see our entire space.”
Zarifkar noted she wasn’t able to do any of this without the rest of her staff of counselors, either, who have been instrumental to the business.
One of the items that is in the waiting room is the ability for children and adults to take part in the search for one of the three fake lizards and then be able to hide the lizard they found in a new space.
“It gets to the point where I might have known where the lizards started the day at, but by the end of the day, not many of them are in those same locations,” Zarifkar said.
The activity is there as a calming focus for patients, either before or after their sessions.
The counselors will continue with telehealth conferencing for many out of town patients, but clients can now meet in Mount Vernon for the other spaces.
Zafrikar said she one item she wants to develop in the future is group therapy sessions, which would be created by remodeling the basement area of the current office space.
Zafrikar also extended a huge thank you to the families who helped in any way during the remodel.
“A lot of people might have taken part by doing something that may have seemed small to them, like watching my kids for a few extra hours on a Saturday while we were painting, but to me even those small things were gigantic,” Zafrikar said.
For more information about Mount Vernon Family Counseling, check out their Facebook page or contact the office at 319-693-2266 or via email at [email protected]. The offices are located at 104 2nd Avenue NW in Mount Vernon.
Tiffany Zafrikar shows off the sand and sensory table that’s a part of her office space, a tool both kids and adults use in their therapy at the counseling offices.