Community Counseling Center expands services; builds new community partnerships
Expanding Space and Services
Lewis & Clark’s Community Counseling Center has secured resources to expand its space in order to better meet the growing need of both graduate students and the clients it serves. The additional 2,199 square feet of space will provide two additional classrooms, five additional therapy rooms, and an additional student work/observation room.
The expansion will accommodate significant growth in the Professional Mental Health Counseling Program, including the Specialization in Addictions, and the Marriage, Couple, and Family Therapy Program. Students in these three programs practice at the clinic under the direct supervision of program faculty and are provided with leading edge facilities for their professional preparation and growth. The expansion also improves the quality of training for students in the early stages of their programs by providing space for them to observe counseling sessions sooner and to practice counseling skills in an actual clinic context prior to seeing clients. The expansion further accommodates growing demands among CPSY faculty for space to engage in clinical research. The build-out of the expansion is scheduled to be completed and the space ready for use by March 2017.
New Community Partnerships
The Community Counseling Center has also entered into two important service contracts this fall. One involves pro-bono services for returning veterans and their families in collaboration with a local nonprofit. Treating veterans is an area in which we are continuing our attempts to build relationships and expand programming. The other is a service contract with the Beaverton Sobriety Opportunity for Beginning Recovery (BSOBR) diversion program, which recently received the League of Oregon Cities Award for Excellence. We began providing mental health and relational therapy services to participants of the BSOBR program on January 1, 2017. These contracts are recognition of the reputation for excellence in treatment that the clinic has earned, as well as the entrepreneurial efforts of faculty.
The Community Counseling Center remains a premier training facility, research site, and powerful example of Lewis & Clark’s contribution to the Portland community and well beyond.
