sportiani» (Observer
M arch 7, 2012
IN S ID E
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Fred Meyer
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pages 6-7
photo by M indy C ixiper /T he P ortland O bserver
Graduate students in the computer lab inside the new Lewis and Clark College Counseling Center
on Southwest Barbur Boulevard study under mental health professionals and gain first-hand experi
ence to help them become counselors in the future.
Affordable Mental Health
Culturally-sensitive counseling center opens
ENTEETAINMENI
pages 10-15
L AW ¿k JUSTICE
SI
page 16-17
C lassifieds
page 18
C alendar
page 19
F o o d
page 20
by M indy C ooper
T he P ortland O bserver
Portlanders and their famil ies ex
periencing mental health, addiction
and relationship issues now have
an affordable place to turn to at the
new Lewis and Clark Community
Counseling Center, which is dedi
cated to serve those in need with
affordable and culturally sensitive
low-cost counseling.
According to Antonia Mueller,
the director of the center located at
4445 S.W. Barbur Blvd., counseling
services are often too expensive for
individuals and their families who
are looking for a safe and nurturing
environment to be heard.
“With the economic times, people
are unable to afford higher levels of
therapies and support,” she said.
“So the graduate school at Lewis
and Clark is responding to the eco
nomic needs of the Portland com
munity.”
The goal of the new mental health
facility, which provides counseling
services on a sliding scale from $ 10
to $50, is to serve the underserved,
with a special focus on outreach to
African-American, Spanish speak
ing and LGBTQ communities.
Since op en in g its d o o rs in
Jan u ary , the clin ic has alread y
seen dozens o f clien ts, in c lu d
ing fam ilies, co u p les and in d i
viduals from m ultiple age groups
and w alks o f life.
“Our goal is to serve the commu
nity in any way we can and take as
many clients as we can because we
know the services are needed,” said
Mueller. "We believe in providing
ease of access to the unemployed,
working poor, immigrant and refu
gee populations in our neighboring
communities.”
The new center, which provides
services to all social classes, races,
sexual orientations, nations of ori
gin, ethnic groups and genders, also
provides students within the Gradu
ate School of Education and Coun
seling the chance to learn from expe
rienced professionals through in
tensive training and supervised
counseling sessions.
“S tu d en ts learn from the e x
p ertise o f facu lty m em bers who
have been in the field for a long
tim e and are sen sitiv e to c u l
tu r a l b a c k g r o u n d s w h o are
onsite p ro v id in g su p erv isio n to
stu d en ts and future g en eratio n
continued
on page 5