Counseling for Our Communities

For more than 30 years, CIIS has been serving diverse San Francisco neighborhoods and communities by offering counseling and psychotherapy to adults, families, couples, youth, and children who might otherwise not have access to counseling or psychotherapy, or who may seek clinicians newly skilled in particular therapeutic modalities.

Staffed by advanced-level and recently graduated CIIS students, under the supervision of licensed clinicians, the six counseling centers provide skilled and compassionate services, as well as unique specializations. They have become trusted partners in San Francisco's mental health systems, serving more than 750 clients a year.

Integral Counseling Psychology Clinics

Three of the six counseling centers are part of the Integral Counseling Psychology program-the largest of the five specializations of CIIS Counseling Psychology M.A. programs. Soon after the Integral Counseling Psychology program was established, CIIS opened the Church Street Counseling Center, followed by Pierce Street and Golden Gate.

All Integral Counseling Psychology clinics share core theoretical principles, approaches, and relational counseling practices; serve diverse populations; and are conveniently located near public transportation

Pierce Street Integral Counseling Center

Located in the Alta Plaza Park in the Upper Fillmore Pacific Heights neighborhood.

2140 Pierce Street
415.776.3109

Director:
Dan Gottsegen (Clinical Psychology '02)

Church Street Integral Counseling Center

Located in Noe Valley.

1782 Church Street
415.648.2644

Director:
Gieve Patel (Integral Counseling Psychology '02)

Golden Gate Integral Counseling Center

Located in the Tenderloin.

507 Polk Street, Suite 450
415.561.0230

Director:
Jessica Wallace

Center for Somatic Psychology

In San Francisco's Financial District, the Center for Somatic Psychology is a part of the Somatic Psychology program and also provides partnership mental health services to a number of San Francisco agencies. These include the San Francisco Sheriff's Department's Women's Resource Center, Legal Services for Children, an elementary school in Glen Park, and an after-school arts program with locations in San Francisco and Marin County.
 
The Center for Somatic Psychology hosts a premier pilot project in complementary behavioral health care with the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM). In addition to Center for Somatic Psychology student clinicians offering counseling and psychotherapy services at its Financial District location, ACTCM students are on-site weekly to provide auricular acupuncture.

This Center for Somatic Psychology/American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine collaboration also has just expanded to the San Francisco Sheriff's Department's Women's Resource Center, where Center for Somatic Psychology students had already been offering outreach services. Preliminary plans are in place for more pairings of counseling and acupuncture.

220 Montgomery Street at Bush Street
415.217.8895

Director:
Steuart Gold (Somatic Psychology '99)

The Clinic Without Walls

The Clinic Without Walls, which recently opened its doors to Bay Area residents, is grounded in a social justice paradigm. Its objective is to provide clinical excellence while addressing contemporary issues of local communities. The clinic serves the needs of diverse populations, particularly those historically discriminated against on the basis of race, sexual orientation, economic status, and other sociocultural factors. Trainees at The Clinic Without Walls learn to address mental health issues with cultural sensitivity and humility by taking into account the rich and complex context of clients' lives.

The clinic operates within five low-income housing communities in San Francisco free of charge. The main site is located in the Mission District at Valencia Gardens. Therapists at The Clinic Without Walls are trained to work with trauma, substance abuse, and a wide array of other issues. Clinicians provide therapy for individuals and couples, family therapy, groups, and other supportive services. Moreover, clinicians utilize "Therapy on the Margins," an approach based on informal conversational encounters through which a therapeutic rapport can be established.

The Clinic Without Walls continues to expand with the intention to both increase the accessibility of mental health services and uphold a psychology of liberation aimed at healing our communities.

415.373.4094

Director:
Thomas Marchevsky

Clinical Psychology Psychological Services Center

Located at Civic Center.

507 Polk Street, Suite 420
415.346.1011

Director:
Lani Chow

Which Clinic is Right for You?

Learn more about each of the CIIS' Community Counseling Clinics