Office of Applied Psychological Services

Link to our brochure

The Office of Applied Psychological Services (OAPS) is a mental health clinic in the Psychology Department at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). We offer therapy and psychological assessment using approaches that are based on scientific theory and supported by scientific evidence, with an emphasis on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques. OAPS serves the UIC community, including faculty, staff, and students, as well as people living or working in the greater Chicago area.

OAPS Summer Clinic Hours

Monday-Thursday 9AM-4PM.

Summer 2024 Therapy Intake Appointments will be available 

Monday

10AM-12PM
11AM-1PM
12-2PM
1-3PM

Tuesday

10AM-12PM
11AM-1PM
12-2PM

Wednesday

10AM-12PM
11AM-1PM
12-2PM
1-3PM

Thursday

10AM-12PM

Clients interested in therapy, please note after the therapy intake is complete, you will be placed on our therapy waitlist until we can assign you a therapy clinician or be provided referrals to therapy clinics with immediate openings.

Substance use Policies:

If we suspect that you/your child are under the influence of substances (e.g., alcohol, marijuana, vaping, etc.), we will ask that you reschedule your appointment, as we are unable to provide effective care, and collect data under these circumstances. Additionally, consistent with UIC and OAPS policies, substances are not permitted on the premises.

Assessment Waitlist:

As of June 13^th, 2024, clients who call for an assessment will be seen in Fall of 2024. Please contact our main line as soon as possible to be added to the waitlist. Clients added to the assessment waitlist will receive a call and OAPS will provide a link for you to complete additional documentation. You will need to complete the additional documentation within 2 weeks. When clients are contacted by OAPS to schedule, they will have 3 business days to respond. If we do not hear back from you during that timeframe, we will assume you are no longer interested in services, and you will be removed from the waitlist.

When you are contacted by OAPS to schedule, we expect that the initial appointment will be scheduled within the next 2 weeks, and any subsequent testing appointments will be completed within the next month. If you are unable to attend appointments within this timeframe, you will be removed from the waiting list and can contact OAPS at any point in the near future to be added back to the waiting list.

COVID-19 Policies

To ensure the safety and wellbeing of all clients, staff, and clinicians, we have implemented a number of cleaning and protective policies within the OAPS clinic for in-person services.

Policies around attendance:

ALL new clients must physically come to the clinic for their intake appointment, due to the nature of the training clinic and to ensure client wellbeing. OAPS encourages all clients to attend sessions in person whenever possible. After the intake appointment, the use of telehealth can be discussed on a case-by-case basis with your clinician.

  Contact-free Appointment & Paperwork

• Clients will receive access to a confidential portal to complete their intake documents prior to their appointment.

  Symptom Screen

• New clients experiencing symptoms will be rescheduled; current clients experiencing symptoms can meet with a clinician via videoconference or telephone.

Services

Clinicians at OAPS are advanced graduate students in UIC’s Ph.D. Program in Clinical Psychology, which is accredited by the American Psychological Association. Graduate student clinicians are supervised by licensed clinical psychologists. OAPS provides a variety of services, including therapy and psychological assessment. We also provide referrals to appropriate agencies for problems that we do not treat.

OAPS is a training clinic, staffed by student clinicians, thus there are certain presenting concerns that we are unable to adequately treat here. These include, but are not limited to, suicidal intent (or acting on suicidal thoughts in the past three years), psychosis, detoxification from substance use, court-referred cases, difficulties resulting from a traumatic brain injury, and diagnosing or treating autism spectrum disorder that requires more comprehensive care. If you are struggling with any of these issues, we will do our best to provide you with referrals to clinics that would be a better fit for your care.

Given the small community of the psychology training clinic and the likelihood that clinical students and supervisors will come into contact with other psychology graduate students, we will not be able to provide therapy or assessment services to graduate students in the psychology department. Ethically, we want students and supervisors to avoid engaging in a dual role with clients. If a student feels very strongly about being seen at OAPS, please reach out to the clinic director, and we will assess circumstances on a case by case basis.

Therapy Services

Using cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), motivational interviewing (MI), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) and other evidence based practices (EBP), OAPS offers therapy for adults, children, families, and couples. We help individuals make changes that will improve their personal functioning and enhance their ability to cope with various life stressors. Therapy is available for a broad range of problems including depression, anxiety (e.g., O.C.D., panic disorder, social anxiety, separation anxiety, adjustment difficulties), trauma, substance use difficulties, relationship difficulties, parenting, emotion dysregulation, and personality disorders.

Given the dual mission of OAPS to both provide affordable, evidence-based services to the Chicago community and serve as a training clinic for graduate students, we ask clients to commit to weekly therapy sessions. This model allows client therapy goals to be most effectively achieved, and it allows our students to obtain the training they need for licensure. If weekly sessions are not the right fit for you, that’s no problem! We are happy to provide referrals to other clinics.

Assessment Services

We offer comprehensive psychological and educational assessment services to adults and children. Assessments evaluate a range of concerns including but not limited to Specific Learning Disorders, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Intellectual Disability (ID), personality assessment, career choices, and other emotional and behavioral concerns.

Fees

OAPS sets fees for services on a sliding scale, based on clients’ income. We do not accept any form of insurance, nor do we submit any claims to insurance for reimbursement. If a client wishes to receive reimbursement from their insurance carrier for OAPS services, that is the sole responsibility of the client. We can provide an invoice to the client with date of service, service provided, and fee, but we do not provide billing codes or fill out insurance-based forms.

Primary Clinical Supervisors

Clinic Director: Jenna Rowen Szerszen, Ph.D.
Associate Director: Jasmin Searcy-Pate, Ph.D.
Director of Assessment Services: Katie Lawton, Ph.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor: Briahna Yuodsnukis, Ph.D.

Location

OAPS is located in the Behavioral Sciences Building (BSB) on UIC’s East Campus.

• For directions to the East Campus.
• For a map showing train and bus stops
• For a map of BSB and available parking.
• For a close up view of BSB and available parking.
• For a diagram of BSB.

Contact Information

To make an appointment or to learn more about OAPS, call 312-996-2540 and press “2” at the prompt to leave a message in the new client voicemail box. Your call will be returned within 1-2 business days.

Nondiscrimination Policy

The Office of Applied Psychological Services does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ethnic background, ancestry, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity.