NEW SERVICES AT THE PSC

OLDER ADULT WELLNESS TEAM

The Older Adult Wellness Team deliver high quality care to older adults and their families in the Pioneer Valley.  We strive to build upon strengths and promote well-being among the 55+ community.  Our program is housed within the Psychological Services Center at UMass Amherst, and aims to collaboratively help older adults via individual therapy and groups.  We help clients with depresssion, anxiety, adjusting to illness and/or cogntive changes, caregiving concerns, retirement-related stress, end-of-life issues, complicated grief, insomnia, and other challenges older adults and their families face.

BEHAVIORAL ACTIVATION (BA)

Behavioral Activation (BA) is a psychological treatment for depression and anxiety that is based on the simple premise that when we take small steps to change behavior, our moods will follow.  The UMass Psychological Services Center (PSC) offers time-limited, 10-week groups on BA.  The groups are intended to be educational, with information presented in mini-lecture format, but also to draw from the experiences of group members through discussion.  Weekly groups are 90-minutes long, and the day and time will be determined by discussion with members once the group is formed.  The cost of the group is $15 per session.  When there is sufficient interest multiple group may be offered.  Groups will be lead by graduate students, and will be co-lead or supervised by Christopher Martell, PD., ABPP, Clinic Director, who is also one of the primary developers of contemporary BA.

PSC Fee Policy

The Psychological Services Center is a low-fee-for-service clinic.  We provide an alternative for individuals who may not otherwise be able to receive services.  We do not, however, offer a sliding fee scheduled as our fees are very low In comparison to other providers in the community.

CURRENT PSC FEE SCHEDULE

The following fees are in effect for the 2019-2020 academic year.

Individual Therapy, 50-min session:      $30

Individual Therapy, 90-min session:      $40

Couples Therapy, 50-min session:         $30

Assessment

Low-Fee Psychological Assessment Program

Individual completing a test

We have a low-fee assessment program that provides reduced cost psychological assessments to members of the campus and off-campus community who meet income eligibility criteria. Our specialized assessment clinical team can conduct full psychological assessment batteries (cognitive, emotional, and projective testing), neuropsychological testing, learning disability assessments, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments. We can consult with parents and schools about educational accommodations and coping with academic difficulties. Clients who are not eligible for our low-fee program still receive services at rates 40% lower than those charged in the private sector.

Therapy

General Adult Psychotherapy

Adult individual therapyWe provide both short- and longer-term psychotherapy on an outpatient basis.  We work with the full range of mental health conditions with the exception of individuals who require acute or emergency interventions.  Our specialties include a behavioral activation/cognitive-behavioral treatment of depression team.  This team primarily will accept clients coping with depression, but we also accept those experiencing a range of anxiety symptoms, co-occurring depression and anxiety or general life adjustment concerns that are affecting mood.  PSC clinicians may also utilize psychodynamic/interpersonal, and integrative approaches to psychotherapy.  We serve clients who experience anxiety symptoms (e.g., social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, obsessive hoarding/cluttering, panic disorder, generalized anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder), depressive symptoms (depression, bipolar disorder, seasonal depression), relationship or family difficulties, couples issues, as well as general mental health problems and issues of life stress. 

Child, Adolescent, Family and Couples Psychotherapy

Children in uniforms

We provide child, adolescent, and family therapy. Our services can focus on individual psychotherapy for children and adolescents, parenting support counseling and parenting training, school consultations, family therapy, or an integration of any of the above. We serve children who suffer from depression, behavioral difficulties, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and anxiety symptoms. We also can help with parenting issues, parent-child/parent-adolescent conflict, difficulties with peers, difficulties at school, difficulties coping with stressful events, self-esteem issues, family problems/conflict, bereavement, toileting problems, and Tourette Syndrome.  Our Child Therapy clinic team is headed by Dr. Rebecca Stowe.