Teen Impact
Who we are
Housed at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Teen Impact is a group-based psychotherapeutic program for pre-teens, teens and young adults that have or once had cancer or a blood disease, and their family members. Our mission is to help young people and their families emotionally survive illness, normalize their experience, mitigate their sense of isolation and learn new coping skills. Teen Impact is free of charge and welcomes patients and their families from any treatment center. As a pioneer program established in 1988, Teen Impact has been nationally recognized as the longest running and only program of its kind in the nation.
Why we do it
Cancer at any age is devastating, but for pre-teens, teens and young adults, battling a life-threatening illness and its treatment poses unique developmental challenges and long-term consequences. Young patients and their families benefit from Teen Impact’s community of friends and mentors who truly know what they are going through, bringing “normal” back into lives turned upside down. Teen Impact is dedicated to the improvement of quality of life for young people with cancer or a blood disease and their families.
Who we serve
We serve a broad age range of patients with cancer or a blood disease, who are on treatment or off of treatment.
- Pre-teens ages 7 to 12
- Teens ages 13 to 19
- Young Adults 20 to 39
We serve family members.
- Young Sibling Group ages 6 to 12
- Older Siblings ages 7 to 39
- Parents who speak Spanish or English
What we do
Family Impact
The evening program is a three-hour block that meets twice monthly and incorporates both informal and formal therapy activities for the entire family.
- First hour. “Teen Space” for families to socialize and take part in a variety of entertainment and/or art activities.
- Second hour. Family dinner hour. A meal is served to all family members to encourage rapport and interaction.
- Third hour. Patients and family members separate into therapeutic groups facilitated by mental health professionals. An interpreter translates for parents who speak Spanish.
Inpatient Teen Group
Weekly professionally led therapeutic groups offer support to hospitalized pre-teens and adolescents to help ameliorate their sense of isolation. Teens have an opportunity to meet each other and share common feelings.
Teen Impact Video Link Service
This service offers support to adolescents in the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit by connecting them to the face-to-face group via computer tablets. Members in the live group also benefit by helping others in more difficult situations.
Social Rehabilitation
Year-round socializing activities such as holiday themed parties and dances offer normalizing adolescent experiences at a time when young people oftentimes experience peer rejection and loss of confidence. These opportunities increase social competence, self-esteem, communication skills and improve the likelihood of developing satisfying interpersonal relationships.
Parties and special events for the entire family
Annual Three-Day Retreat
The three-day annual retreat is held at El Capitan Canyon Resort for adolescents 12 to 19 years old. Forty teenagers attend the retreat. The experience encourages independence, adaptive peer relationships through the integration of therapy group sessions, structured self- expression and relaxation workshops, and recreational socializing activities.
Sixteen trained and supervised counselors and co-counselor who are long-term survivors of cancer or a blood disease mentor teen participants who are assigned to their cabin.
The retreat is staffed by individuals from a variety of professional backgrounds such as social work, medicine, nursing, psychology and graduate students.
AYA (Adolescent and Young Adult) program
Teen Impact has taken an active role in the development and implementation of the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) program launched this year by Children’s Hospital and the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. Teen Impact staff teaches the psychosocial component for the AYA medical school course and provides medical students hands-on experience at Teen Impact meetings, including interactions with patients and families, interviews of older members and participation in the parent group support session. Dr. Kuperberg is a co-chair of the AYA Advisory Board made up of young adults with cancer. This group is currently consulting on a design for a AYA space at the Norris medical facility and working to develop psychosocial programs for this age group.
Teen Impact in collaboration with The Matt Cwiertny Memorial Foundation (MCMF) gives iPod Nanos, pre-loaded with music generously donated by caring artists, to newly-diagnosed AYA cancer patients.
Research
A study was implemented to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a video-link service designed to allow teens in the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit to participate in the live Teen Impact therapy group via computer tablets.
Results will inform us on future use of this technology.
Education and Training
Teen Impact offers a comprehensive training program for psychology graduate students selected from a competitive pool of applicants. Students participate in a one month training session and year-round individual and group supervision.
Each of the 5 students lead a year- long therapy group, provide individual and family therapy for approximately eight patients, and meet new patients and families to introduce them to Teen Impact.
Teen Impact lends expertise in the psychosocial area with lectures to medical students as part of a new medical school course in the field of AYA (adolescent and young adult). Teen Impact also provides medical students hands-on experiences with patients and families during the Family Impact program.
When we do it
Family Impact. The second and fourth Monday 5:00 to 8:00 PM held at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in the John Stauffer Conference Center. Dinner and parking included. There are no meetings in August and none on the 4th Monday in December.
The annual three-day psychosocial retreat is held the first weekend in June.
For more information about the program or special events please contact the Teen Impact office: (323) 361-4660.
How we do it
Aura Kuperberg, PhD
Director
Assistant Clinical Professor, University of Southern California
Dr. Aura Kuperberg obtained her doctoral degree in Social Work from the University of Southern California in 1994 and has a dual master’s degree in Social Work and Gerontology from USC. Dr. Kuperberg founded Teen Impact in 1988 when she saw the need to create a special community for teens battling cancer. Dr. Kuperberg has since dedicated her life to her unwavering belief that every teen and young adult survivor should have the opportunity to experience peer-support in a group where they are truly understood.
Betty Gonzalez-Morkos, Psy.D.
Clinical Director of Programs
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Dr. Gonzalez-Morkos received her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University in 2005. Prior to becoming Teen Impact staff, Dr. Gonzalez-Morkos worked in several community mental health settings providing therapy for mostly low-income, Spanish speaking families and for adolescents with chronic illnesses. As Clinical Director of Programs, her goals are to maintain a fun and therapeutic environment for all group members, mentor future psychologist and social workers, and conduct research that will lead to improved Teen Impact services.
Octavio (Tavo) Zavala
Program Administrator
Octavio (Tavo) Zavala was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 12 years old, and while receiving treatment at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles he joined the newly founded Teen Impact program. Tavo eventually went on to graduate from UCLA and work as a counselor in various health care settings. In 1999, he returned to Teen Impact as Project Coordinator and now co-facilitates groups, plans activities, and coordinates psychosocial research projects. Tavo’s personal cancer experience combined with skills he’s learned along the way help him build strong connections between the Teen Impact program and the families it serves.
Michael Z. Wolkenfeld, PsyD
Licensed Clinical Psychologist, HOPE Program
Dr. Michael Wolkenfeld came to CHLA with a history of extensive training and experience in the field of crisis counseling and trauma related services that were conducted through several governmental agencies. Dr. Wolkenfeld earned his doctoral degree from American Behavioral Studies Institute in 2001, and completed a post- doctoral fellowship at Children’s Institute Inc. before coming on staff with CHLA in 2006. Dr. Wolkenfeld provides psychological services to Hematology-Oncology patients and their families in both individual and group settings, as well as assists in the supervision and training of psychology graduate students.