The George Mason University Center for Psychological Services held its Inaugural Fundraiser this past Saturday, June 3, at the Krasnow Institute on Mason’s Fairfax campus. Over 50 attendees came together to raise more than $5,000 to provide critical mental health services to serve our lowest income clients in the community.
The highlight of the evening was Emily, an 11 year-old former client, sharing her success story and the impact our center has had on her life. Emily explained how since the age of five, she could not eat in front of or near anyone due to anxiety, and how she had not been helped by other clinics and doctors she had seen. From working with one of our doctoral student therapists she learned skills to overcome her disorder and is now able to go out to eat with her family, a priceless activity many take for granted.
We are grateful to our event sponsors & supporters – Chef Rich and Chef Landon from Vinifiera Wine Bar & Bistro in Reston, Joy & Company Flowers, Steve Buckhantz, announcer for the Washington Wizards and all our silent auction donors!
A little background on our Center: The George Mason University Center for Psychological Services serves as a community mental health center for the community. Our mission is to provide low-cost, accessible, state of the art mental health services to children, adolescents and adults in our community, while also training the next generation of ethical, competent and culturally sensitive psychologists.
In addition, we are one of only two centers in the Northern Virginia area that provide sliding scale rates for therapy that go as low as $25/therapy session on our traditional scale. We are the only center providing low cost testing services. Our clients, who learn skills to take control of their illnesses, include:
- children and teens who have suicidal ideation, depression and/or anxiety
- phobias/fears that get in the way of living – such as a child who stopped going to school due to his fear of dogs
- veterans with PTSD
- adults with depression – who become better parents when depression is helped
- college students with learning disabilities who need accommodations to succeed
Our Center has grown considerably over the past several years to where we are now serving over 350 children, adolescents and adults per year – with over 2500 client contacts per year.
If you missed the event, but would like to help support other children like Emily, please consider a donation at: http://psyclinic.gmu.edu/give. A donation of $50 covers two therapy sessions for a lower income client.
For more information, please visit our website at: http://psyclinic.gmu.edu/
June 07, 2017
