The Center for Educational and Psychological Services, located on the 6th floor of Thorndike Hall, is a training and research facility that offers a wide range of educational and psychological services. These services are provided by advanced graduate students who are enrolled in master's and doctoral degree programs at TC and are available to people of all ages in the greater New York community at affordable rates.

These services are provided by advanced graduate students who are enrolled in master's and doctoral degree programs at the College. The provision of these services is closely supervised by members of the Teachers College faculty.

Dr. Dinelia Rosa, who recently accepted the position of Director of the center, spoke about why she wanted to take on its responsibilities. Rosa said, "I was attracted by the fact that while I have worked in the city for more than 16 years, mostly in clinical settings, this position allows me to bring that experience to an academic setting and integrate it with theory."

The dynamic new director, who was the senior psychologist at the Inpatient Geriatric Unit of Bellevue Hospital Center before taking on the demanding position at TC, explained what she calls "the dual role of the center."

"I see the center's purpose at several levels. At one level and as its first priority, it is a training center that offers students the opportunity to apply theory in the provision of care services. However, while doing this, the center provides a service to the community."

Rosa discussed the rigorous training practicums that she and her staff employ in working with three academic departments at the College-Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Curriculum and Teaching, and Health and Behavior Studies. "From the Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, our students undergo training in psychological assessment, psychotherapy (long-term and short-term for adults and children), personal and career counseling, and vocational rehabilitation. The students from Curriculum and Teaching receive training in the assessment of learning disabilities."

From the Department of Health and Behavior Studies and through two different programs, School Psychology and Reading, students are trained in the administration of comprehensive psychoeducational evaluations, and assessment of reading difficulties and intervention in the form of a reading-tutoring program respectively," she said.

"But what makes us exceptional, besides our training component, is that clients from the community who come here," Rosa continued, "can receive more than one service in one place rather than going to different places. This multi-service modality can facilitate the acquisition of services to the client. In addition, our advanced graduate students provide services to people from different economic backgrounds including people who have little or no means to pay."

According to Rosa, the 200 students enrolled in practicums see approximately 400 clients per semester.

The center's sliding-scale fee ensures that no applicant is turned away because of insufficient funds. Fees range from $2 to $30 per session for psychotherapy or counseling. Other services are provided under a single overall fee determined on a comparable sliding scale. "So, in that sense the role of the center is important to our community. We provide services to schools in the community, and to families with more than one or two children in need of services. Because of our sliding scale, we also have very low income families who cannot afford to pay for a full psychological evaluation and for psychotherapy services," Rosa said.

Rosa envisions taking an activist part in collaborating more closely with other service providers in the community. "A lot of people and agencies in the community don't really know that we're here," said Rosa, "and that mutual benefit can take place by developing linkages that not only will improve services to the community but will increase the ties between the community and our institution.

Published Tuesday, Sep. 18, 2001