Psychological Services

To be eligible, students must be currently enrolled in one of Clark’s graduate or undergraduate programs, or employed by Clark. Our program provides services for students and Clark staff who call directly or who are referred to us by others on campus. Treatment services are typically available for a limited number of students and staff each year and are made available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Potential clients are screened to ensure the program is suitable for both client and therapist and to avoid any potential conflicts related to faculty and/or teaching assistant course assignments.

Individual therapy is provided on either a short- or longer-term basis during the regular school year, with clients and therapists collaboratively deciding on the length and course of treatment. During the first visit, clients are asked to complete background information and psychological questionnaires. This helps determine the best services to fit the client’s situation. Clients are encouraged to be active in defining their therapeutic goals and to inquire about the nature of the therapy when they have questions.

All sessions are conducted via a secure telehealth platform. To facilitate supervision, the therapist will video record therapy sessions to review with the supervisor. Only people directly involved with the clinic will ever have access to recordings of therapy sessions.

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Therapy sessions are scheduled during the program’s normal operating hours, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The program operates from the beginning of September through the end of May, and is closed from mid-December through mid-January. Clients are seen within a week or two after the initial contact. Clients are requested to provide advanced notice (24 hours) if any sessions must be missed.

The Couple Therapy Practicum offers therapy services to couples in the Worcester community who would like to strengthen and improve their relationship. Treatment services are typically available for a limited number of clients each year and are made available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Since the clinic is primarily a training and research facility, we are not able to provide services to all that request help. To obtain services it is necessary to arrange an initial phone triage interview, and fill out informational questionnaires. After these steps have been completed, the supervisory group will meet and determine if we can provide the services needed.

The therapist will work to create a safe and productive space for couples to communicate and work through relationship issues. The goals of therapy are to:

• Improve each partner’s understanding of their relationship
• Increase acceptance and intimacy between partners
• Promote more living positive behaviors
• Increase relationship satisfaction

The first phase of therapy consists of relationship evaluation, where the therapist learns about the couple’s strengths and concerns. The second phase of therapy is the active treatment, where the therapist meets with both partners (together and individually) in weekly or bi-weekly sessions.

All sessions are conducted via a secure telehealth platform. To facilitate supervision, the therapist will record therapy sessions to review with the supervisor. Only people directly involved with the clinic will ever have access to recordings of therapy sessions.

Therapy sessions are generally scheduled during normal business hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or at a time convenient for both clients and therapist. The program operates from the beginning of September through the end of May and is closed from mid-December through mid-January.

The Psychological Assessment Practicum is open to individuals in the greater Worcester area. To be eligible people must be six years of age or older and have a question that this psychological testing can help answer. The supervising psychologist can help determine whether this psychological assessment will be appropriate. Potential clients will be screened to ensure that referral questions are appropriate for this practicum. Assessment is offered to a limited number of clients.

Psychological assessments are offered in-person by teams of clinical psychology doctoral students, trained and supervised by a licensed psychologist. Once it is determined an assessment is considered appropriate to the individual, the client participates in a one-session interview and then two to three sessions of psychological testing. Feedback will be given to individuals and families after the report is completed.

Assessment appointments will be scheduled on Monday mornings between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on the Clark University campus. The program will operate from September through mid-December.