Psychology Clinic
The psychology clinic is an independent mental health facility operated by the Department of Psychology clinical training program in the College of Arts and Sciences at Western Michigan University.
The primary function of the psychology clinic is to provide doctoral students with opportunities for practicum and specialized training in clinical and research skills. The clinic also functions as a provider of psychological services to the University and the general community.
Services
The psychology clinic is a general outpatient facility designed to provide a wide range of assessment and treatment services to infants, children, adolescents and adults. If it is determined that the nature of the client's problem is not appropriate for services offered at the clinic, referrals are made to appropriate agencies in the community.
Assessment
Psychological assessments are conducted for a variety of purposes, including disability evaluations, ADHD evaluations, achievement, and ability assessments. Evaluations are also conducted to aid in educational and institutional decisions.
Treatment
Individual, couple and family therapy are provided at the clinic. Groups may be formed periodically for specific purposes such as stress management, parent training, habit reversal, and depression.
Examples of infant and child problems typically seen at the clinic include behavioral, school-related, social and emotional issues, eating disorders and parent training.
Examples of adult problems treated at the clinic include depression, generalized anxiety and phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder, stress-related problems, obesity and eating disorders, relationship discord and gender and sexuality related concerns.
The staff
The clinic is staffed by doctoral level graduate students in clinical psychology under direct supervision of licensed clinical psychologists. All student therapists receive training in assessment and therapy and receive individual and group supervision during their work in the clinic.
Services may be offered by staff in the following languages: English and Spanish. The option to receive services in Spanish will be based on therapist's availability and cannot be guaranteed.
Confidentiality
Everything discussed in the clinic is regarded as confidential information. This means that the therapist and supervising psychologist are bound to confidentiality and cannot discuss the client's case with anyone outside the clinic such as a doctor, without prior written consent of the client. Confidentiality may only be breached when a client indicates a potential for harm to themselves or to others, or if the information was court ordered.
Location
Western Michigan University
University Medical and Health Sciences Center
1000 Oakland Drive 3rd Floor
Kalamazoo MI 49008 USA
Phone: (269) 387-8302
Hours of operation
The psychology clinic is open throughout the entire year. Day and evening sessions are available by appointment. The clinic is closed on University holidays and whenever classes are not in session.
Appointments
An initial intake session is scheduled with the prospective client for about an hour. This is called an intake appointment. This appointment serves to inform the client of the procedures of the clinic and to obtain more information regarding the client's specific concern.
Wait list
Because of the training nature of the clinic, the wait list is not on a first-come, first-served basis. Guarantees are not offered as to when your case will be assigned to a therapist. However, we make every effort to serve as many as we can.
Sessions
Clients and their therapists determine the number of sessions and how often. Generally, therapy sessions occur weekly for 45 to 60 minutes. The WMU Psychology Clinic also performs specialized assessment services (e.g., ADHD, learning disorder, intelligence assessments). Specialized assessment sessions vary in length depending on the type of assessments administered. If you have scheduled an appointment and need to cancel, please do so 24 hours in advance.
Fees and Insurance
The WMU Psychology Clinic accepts self-pay clients and select Medicaid insurance plans. We currently accept Priority Health Medicaid and Meridian Medicaid insurance plans. Individuals are required to complete a Financial Agreement prior to the onset of WMU Psychology Services. The Financial Agreement includes a list of services, the length of services, and the cost of services. A standardized sliding fee scale is used to determine fees for services for self-pay clients.
Fees for services are based on income, the type of services provided, and the session length. Therapy sessions are typically 45-minutes in length and the full cost of a 45-minute therapy session is $40.00, however, some individuals may qualify for a reduced rate based on their income. We have constructed our sliding fee scale to continue to accommodate individuals who are experiencing financial hardship. If you are interested in finding out if you qualify for a reduced rate on the sliding scale, you will be asked to provide documentation of your income. Documentation may include your most recent tax return, most recent employment payment stubs, most recent unemployment payment stubs, or current year award/benefit statement from other sources (e.g., disability, social security, veteran benefits).
Specialized assessment services (e.g., ADHD, learning disorder, intelligence assessments) are self-pay only and are not eligible for a discount based on a sliding fee schedule. Specialized assessment services include the initial diagnostic evaluation, testing sessions, feedback session, report writing and interpretation. The cost of specialized assessment services is $300.00 (flat fee). In addition to the flat assessment fee, individuals seeking assessment services through the WMU Clinic will be required to
complete a clinic intake appointment. The clinic intake appointment is not included in the cost of assessment services and will be billed separately either thorough insurance (Priority Health Medicaid or Meridian Medicaid) or self-pay using a standardized sliding fee.