Get therapy for as little as $5 at this Pitt clinic

Pitt's Clinical Psychology Center is accepting new clients for adult and child therapy, with sessions that can cost as little as $5.

"It's very hard to find therapy for only $5 to $10 for folks, and that can really lift a burden," said Senior Clinic Assistant Sonia Sims, a sixth-year PhD student studying clinical and developmental psychology in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences.

The center provides a variety of outpatient psychological services at reduced fees, from therapy for adults, children and families to IQ assessments and full cognitive evaluations. Therapy costs $5 to $40 per session based on household income and size, and evaluations cost a flat $50 to $250.

Clients include Pitt students, faculty and staff as well as students from other nearby colleges, families and older adults, said Clinical Professor Jill Cyranowski, who serves as the center's director. She added that witnessing the growth of the clients, and of the students as they advance through the program, is its own reward.

"We are always just blown away by the strength and the resilience of the folks who we serve here," she said.

The center is separate from the University Counseling Center, which serves enrolled students at no additional cost; Pitt students who opt to use the Clinical Psychology Center typically pay $10 a session.

A sliding scale

Relatively few clinics offer mental health and psychological services on a sliding scale, said Professor Anna Marsland, who chairs the Dietrich School's clinical psychology program.

"There's an enormous need in the community to provide these kind of services to people who don't have health insurance," said Marsland (A&S '92G, '97G).

Sims said the team works with each patient to make fees manageable. "We really care about making ourselves accessible," she said.

Most adult clients seek help for depression and anxiety, Marsland said, and the center also offers child and family therapy for ages 5-17 and a pain management program for adults with chronic pain. Cognitive evaluations can test for ADHD, learning disabilities and memory concerns.

Clinic assistants, who are PhD students in the program, screen callers by phone to determine when the center isn't the right fit for people who are at high risk or have specialized needs. In such cases, the team suggests two or three alternatives that suit each caller's situation, insurance and budget.

Demand for adult evaluations has been so high that their waitlist is closed for now, Cyranowski said, though the waitlist for children's evaluations is open.

Training tomorrow's therapists

The center also serves as the training clinic for the Department of Psychology's clinical psychology PhD program - ranked No. 6 in the nation - allowing doctoral students to practice providing evidence-based care under the direction of licensed psychologists.

PhD students start seeing clients the summer after their first year and spend two years training at the center, including weekly meetings with their supervisors. All five therapy rooms record sessions, which are reviewed by supervisors, with clients' consent.

Sims said those recordings are central to the program's training. One piece of feedback she got early, and still hears, is to let a moment of silence give a client room to think.

"You don't always have to be talking in therapy, but it's a clinical skill to be able to sit really comfortably in silence," she said.

Marsland, who earned her graduate degrees at Pitt, recognizes that growth from her own training.

"I can remember gaining confidence and a breadth of new experience when I was in the program, and I see that play out many times through our trainees," she said.