updated 6/4/08

Counseling & Mental Health Services

The Mental Health Program offers confidential counseling and emotional support to individuals, couples and families. Services are provided by licensed mental-health providers, trainees and interns. All staff members are knowledgeable about issues facing LGBTQ/HIV communities.

Daytime and evening hours are available, and services are provided on a sliding scale based on your income. Some HIV-affected counseling services are provided free of charge.

Counseling services include the following:

• Brief counseling for specific issues
• Individual short-term counseling
• Long-term counseling where indicated
• Relationship counseling for couples and families
• Referral for psychological assessment and psychiatric care
• Information and support
• Consultation for case managers and other service providers
• Linkage to collateral services
• Gender identity related issues

Counseling for individuals, couples, and families
In our day-to-day lives, there are times when we face emotionally difficult issues. Many times we’re very aware of what those issues might be, and other times we don’t know exactly why we feel sad, nervous, or angry. Talking with a counselor is a good way to get help identifying feelings, developing a plan of action, and carrying it out to improve the functioning and quality of life.

Many times a specific event forces us to deal with life-long issues that we have put on hold, and therapy becomes an important tool to sort things out. Sometimes our lives are turned upside down by bad news or loss, and we need to talk to someone outside the immediate situation in order to deal with the unexpected circumstances. Counseling can fit the needs of individuals, couples, and families who find themselves confronted with emotional problems and circumstances specific to them.

Under special circumstances, services may be needed that are not offered in-house. When this happens, we refer out for psychiatric evaluation and medication monitoring in conjunction with counseling.

Support Groups
Support Groups offer the opportunity to learn from others in similar situations, to see problems from different angles, to realize that you’re not alone in your experiences, feelings, or reactions, and to recognize the value of giving as well as receiving caring support.