By: PSC Staff

The Psychological Services Center (PSC) is a training clinic for doctoral students in the Clinical Psychology Program in the Department of Psychology at Temple University. The PSC has been providing comprehensive psychological services to both Temple and the local communities since the early 1970s. Staffed by doctoral students under the supervision of licensed clinical faculty, the PSC provides a wide range of affordable services, including adult, child, family, and couples psychotherapy. Therapy services address a variety of possible concerns, including anxiety, depression, trauma, work/school stress, LBGTQIA+ issues, disordered eating, anger management, behavioral and conduct problems, and relationship discord. A number of empirically based treatment approaches are used in the clinic, such as cognitive-behavioral, acceptance-based, and mindfulness-based interventions. 

Services are supported by research within the Psychology Department, with faculty members providing consultation and supervision from diverse areas of study and expertise. Moreover, many student clinicians are trained in specialized research protocols within faculty labs. This knowledge helps inform clinical work in the PSC and reinforces the important connection between psychological research and practice. In addition to these services, the PSC offers psychoeducational and psychological assessments, including cognitive testing for independent school admissions, comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations for learning disabilities and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and diagnostic and personality assessments. 

Driven by a strong commitment to providing equal access to evidence-based mental health services for all those it serves, the PSC offers flexible fees based on a sliding scale according to clients' ability to pay. The PSC is particularly committed to making high-quality, culturally sensitive mental health care accessible and affordable to underserved populations in the surrounding community.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the PSC has made some necessary changes to the way services are provided. In an effort to prioritize continuity of care while minimizing health risks, all therapy services transitioned to being provided entirely through online video conferencing via Zoom. The PSC is currently in the process of transitioning to the Microsoft Teams video conferencing platform for therapy sessions, which is HIPAA-compliant and allows for the secure recording of sessions for training purposes. Unfortunately, the PSC is not currently able to offer assessment services during the pandemic because many of these assessments necessitate in-person contact. In the meantime, we may provide some virtual testing when possible. We are continuing to add interested individuals to our waitlist for assessment services and provide referrals as needed. 

Moving entirely to the teletherapy format created new challenges. For example, not all clients have access to secure and reliable internet, smartphones, or personal computers with webcams, or even a safe and private space to speak freely. On the other hand, we have found there to be benefits to the new format as well. Some individuals who would otherwise not be able to attend in-person sessions due to transportation issues or child-care concerns now have greater access to mental health care. Our clinicians have also reported that conducting sessions via Zoom has been particularly helpful in getting a sense of our clients' home environments and can also make it easier to involve loved ones in care. Overall, we have been pleased with how well our clients and therapists have transitioned to teletherapy services, and we are hopeful that teletherapy will continue to be a useful tool in providing access to mental health services to our clients beyond this crisis.

For more information about the PSC and our services, call 215-204-7100, email psc@temple.edu or visit www.templepsc.com.