Yale Psychological Services Clinic Offers Sliding Fees For Treatment of Anxiety Disorders, Depression, Marital Problems

The Yale Psychological Services Clinic – YPSC, which is well-known in the New Haven area as a provider of reasonably priced psychotherapy, recently announced an expansion of its services to include obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, depression, panic disorder, interpersonal difficulties and marital problems. Treatment costs are based on ability to pay.

Operated by the Yale University psychology department, the YPSC provides psychological services to the Yale community and the public, trains about 15 Yale psychology doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows each year, and performs clinical research to better understand emotional problems.

“Changes in the organization of the clinic mean that we now offer expanded services to include more recent innovations in psychology as well as continuing our traditional services,” said YPSC Director Sheila Woody, Ph.D. “These new approaches include specialty teams for the treatment of a variety of psychological problems. In addition, we have a psychiatrist affiliated with the clinic for clients who require medication or other psychiatric consultation.”

The clinic uses a sliding-fee scale with prices ranging from $25 to $85 for individual treatment and $20 to $45 for group treatment. A flat rate of $65 is charged for initial evaluations, which may last several sessions before the clinician recommends treatment.

Each treatment team is run by a clinical faculty member from the Yale psychology department who specializes in that area. For instance, Dr. Woody, who is an assistant professor, is an expert in the field of anxiety disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobias, panic disorders and social anxiety. Therapists on her teams use highly specific cognitive-behavioral treatment approaches to help clients learn to reduce their anxiety and gain feelings of mastery and control over previously feared situations.

“Social phobias involve an intense fear of interacting with other people, and the YPSC uses cognitive therapy to help clients predict, control, and reduce anxiety,” Dr. Woody said. “The therapist also challenges self-recriminations and fears of being judged negatively that can contribute to anxiety. Behavior therapy, on the other hand, gives clients with social phobias opportunities to practice social situations they have avoided in the past, such as asking for a date or being assertive with one’s boss.”

She said a particularly exciting new treatment focus this year is on marital and mood disorders, led by Mark Whisman, Ph.D., who recently received an National Institute of Mental Health grant to study the interplay between marital functioning and depression. He will be trying to understand individual and marital factors that contribute to depression as well as the impact that depression has on the marriage, Dr. Woody said.

Dr. Whisman, an assistant professor of psychology at Yale, has done a great deal of research in the area of couple’s therapy and depression, and he has found that marital therapy is as effective for relieving depression as individual treatment when one member of the couple is depressed. His team provides marital, individual and/or group treatment for depression and relationship difficulties.

“Marital therapy is designed to help couples learn to communicate better with each other, cope with stress and use cognitive techniques to improve the depressed spouse’s mood,” Dr. Whisman said. “People who are depressed often have difficulty sleeping, eating or concentrating. They feel chronically fatigued and have low energy, and may feel hopeless, helpless or worthless. At times, they may even feel suicidal.”

Dr. Whisman’s team helps depressed clients gradually recover lost motivation and resume daily functioning by setting reasonable goals, she said. Therapists also help patients develop interpersonal and problem-solving skills. Using cognitive therapy, therapists help clients challenge their depressive ideas. “Research has shown that this combination of cognitive and behavioral therapy relieves depression as effectively as anti-depressant medications,” Dr. Whisman said.

The YPSC offers therapy that focuses on differences between perceived and desired behavior for clients who lack confidence or have trouble getting along with others This interpersonal treatment approach is headed by Professor Jerome L. Singer. For more information about treatment options, call the clinic at 432-4520.