Community Partners Access Institute' s Clinic to the Community project, which began in 2006, expanded the organization's capacity by providing direct services outside the clinic walls in three locations in San Francisco, an adult day health center, a school, and a women's health clinic. The Clinic to the Community project has helped to realize Access Institute's vision of providing mental health intervention to San Franciscans who are at risk for psychological impairment, but have difficulty accessing mental health services. By taking psychological services into the community, the project has addressed the lack of integration between mental health, medical care, and educational services. At the Bayview Hunter' s Point Adult Day Health Center, interns from the Elder Psychotherapy Program provide on-site services to senior participants in the adult day program. Individual therapy, group treatment and neuropsychological assessment services are provided by the interns who also provide consultation in team meetings. Mental health intervention not only has reduced mental suffering, depression and anxiety among clients but also has decreased the overuse of medical services. At Grattan School, and Hillcrest School two K-5 public schools in San Francisco, on-site therapy helps some of the neediest students work through their underlying emotional issues, in turn, improving their behavior and overall well-being, both at school and in the home. Interns work at Grattan and Hillcrest providing therapy, consulting with teachers and parents, and participating in monthly Care Team meetings regarding the children. The Women's Community Clinic (WCC) provides free women's health services through a program that emphasizes education, prevention and early intervention. In 2005, Access Institute began providing assessment, referral and staff support services. Though this program is currently on hold due to lack of available space at the WCC, we are working with staff at the WCC to plan for enhanced services following their move to a new larger facility in the spring of 2010.

Psychological Services for our Community Listen to "Psychotherapy 101", a radio interview with Dr. Bart Magee, Access Institute's Executive Director "You can afford good therapy" "Low-fee therapy for San Francisco" Access Institute offers quality psychotherapy on an income-based sliding scale (per session fees start at $30). All you need to do is call our intake team at (415) 861-5449. We’ll do a brief telephone intake where we listen to you, ask a few simple questions and refer you to one of our therapists. We offer a full range of psychological services Psychotherapy Services Family, Adolescent and Child Therapy Individual/play therapy for children ages 3-12 Individual therapy for adolescents ages 12-17 Family Therapy Adult Psychotherapy Individual therapy Couple/marital therapy Geropsychology Individual therapy specialized for older adults Family therapy, and caregiver support Intital assessment in therapy After meeting with you to discuss your situation, your therapist will work with you to form an individual treatment plan. This plan includes understanding your goals for treatment and designing a structure for reaching them. For individual psychotherapy, 50-minute therapy sessions may be scheduled weekly or more frequently if needed. Depending on your needs, your treatment may be brief (fewer than 20 sessions) or longer-term. If medication is an appropriate addition to your therapy, consultation with the staff psychiatrist can be arranged. At Access Institute, we work to ensure that your therapy is tailored to your needs. Medication Consultation Our staff Psychiatrist provides psychiatric consultation and recommendations for medication as needed for clients in ongoing therapy at Access Institute. (We cannot provide medication services to patients not in therapy at Access Institute.) Psychological Testing Services Access Institute for Psychological Services provides comprehensive neuropsychological and psychological assessment and testing for children, adults and seniors at affordable sliding scale rates. Testing can be useful in understanding how cognitive and psychological factors such as memory, attention, planning, organization, perception, and emotion can influence learning, behavior, and one's general capacity for work, school, and daily activity. Psycho-educational testing for children and adolescents Children are often tested in school to assess their overall abilities, strengths, and weaknesses related to learning. Often these school tests don't go far enough in helping us understand the whole child. A comprehensive neuropsychological assessment combines tests of learning and achievement with tests of cognitive ability that evaluate brain functioning. A psychological assessment is included to determine how social and emotional issues may affect classroom performance. In addition, the assessment will integrate interview data from family members and educators to get the most complete understanding of the problem. As part of the final report, recommendations are given with the goal of helping develop the most effective strategies for learning and development. Diagnostic testing for adults and children Psychological diagnostic assessment is useful in situations where making the most accurate diagnosis is essential for treatment. By using the most advanced tests and the employing comprehensive approaches (extensive interviewing and battery of multiple tests) diagnostic questions can be accurately resolved. Getting the diagnosis right is essential for effective treatment. For example, the treatment for Attention Deficit Disorder differs from that of Anxiety Disorder yet they can often present in a similar manner. A thorough evaluation can help identify the source of a psychological or behavioral problem, whether it is cognitive, emotional, social/relational or a mixture. If requested, reports can be submitted to the referring provider, and in addition, the final outcome of the assessment can include individualized advice and treatment recommendations. Psychological and cognitive assessments for seniors Older adults require assessments that are specifically tailored to their needs. Aging presents psychological and medical issues that are interrelated. Cognitive changes, medical illness, social disruption, emotional turmoil can overlap with one another and present a complex picture. Testing can help tease out these various aspects of the situation and help focus an approach for intervention. An example of this is the question of differentiating depression and dementia in an older adult. The symptoms of each are similar, but the treatments vary greatly. A thorough assessment that includes tests for dementia and more general psychological and emotional problems can help make an accurate distinction. Assessments of older adults will include, as needed, interviews with the patient, family and caregivers, as well as a review of medical data. Quality treatment from well-trained therapists Access Institutes psychotherapists are experienced and talented graduate and post-graduate interns who are supervised by licensed psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers and marriage/family therapists. Access Institute therapists commit to a two year training, giving our clients the opportunity to see the same therapist for up to two years. Our therapists understand the needs of our economically, racially and culturally diverse city. We believe in a future where Access Institute staff—including our training-program graduates—will be key participants in creating a new, affordable mental health care infrastructure for San Francisco. Please call (415) 861-5449 if you have questions or would like to schedule an appointment.