Office of Applied Psychological Services
Office of Applied Psychological Services (OAPS)
University of Illinois at Chicago
Office of Applied Psychological Services
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.
Hours
Monday – Thursday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Spring 2021 Intake Appointments
Monday
• 9-11
• 1-3
Tuesday
• 10-12
• 12-2
Wednesday
• 9-11
• 1-3
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. The services we can provide at this time and our hours of operation have also been modified.
Intake services for new therapy clients will be paused from November 12, 2020 to January 11, 2021. We will continue monitoring the phone and will return your call within 1-2 business days before December 18, 2020 if you are interested in being placed on our waitlist. The clinic will be closed and calls will not be returned December 21, 2020 to January 4, 2021 for the holidays; however, you can still call during this time and expect a call back after January 4, 2021.
Assessment services will be paused from November 25, 2020 to January 11, 2021. We will not be adding any new clients to our waitlist between November 2020 and January 2021. If you are interested in pursuing an assessment at OAPS, please call after January 4, 2021 and we can give you an approximation of when testing would be conducted and can add you to our waitlist at that time.
POLICIES TO ENTER OAPS CLINIC:
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. This appointment will be virtually contactless, and the clinic will have no more than 4 people staffing it on any given day. After the first appointment, clients will have flexibility in fully virtual treatment options.
Contact-free Appointment & Paperwork
- Clients will be set up in a confidential clinic room, where they will have total privacy and speak to their intake clinician mask-free using a secure videoconferencing platform
- Clients will receive access to a confidential portal to complete their intake documents prior to their appointment
Symptom Screen
- All clients must complete a health screen (accessed via their confidential portal) at least one hour prior to their appointment. Clients will also be screened upon arrival to the clinic by the supervisor on site.
- New clients experiencing symptoms will be rescheduled; current clients experiencing symptoms can meet with a clinician via videoconference or telephone
Protective Measures
- Protective face coverings must be worn in the building
- Upon arriving to the clinic clients will be asked to wash their hands and their temperature will be recorded
Physical Distancing
- Individuals are expected to maintain 6 feet of distance from one another at all times while in the clinic
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.
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.
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 c.oncerns
Fees
Fees are set with a sliding scale based on income.
Primary Clinical Supervisors
Clinic Director: Jenna Rowen Szerszen, Ph.D.
Associate Director & Director of Assessment: Danielle Baran, Ph.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor: Grace Giedgowd, 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.