The Rita M. McGinley Psychology Clinic is the primary training facility for the doctoral students in Â鶹ֱ²¥'s clinical psychology program. The doctoral students provide all services under the supervision of licensed clinical faculty members and selected licensed adjunct faculty psychologists in the community. Affordable services are available to Â鶹ֱ²¥ students and employees as well as to the greater Pittsburgh Communities. Services are provided with exceptional respect for confidentiality and a commitment to diversity, and in a comfortable, pleasant setting.

Our Psychology Clinic welcomes students and community members of all backgrounds to take part in its affordable and compassionate services. Our graduate students are trained to focus on the human science approach as well as the natural science approach to the study of psychology, which gives them a full-person perspective in their interactions with patients. 

Due to COVID-19, the Psychology Clinic now provides in-person and remote/virtual services. Consistent with University policy and CDC recommendations, masks are required. For in-person sessions you must also be vaccinated. If you would like to inquire about scheduling an appointment or gather more information, please call 412-396-6562. 

Psychology Clinic Services

  • Individual psychotherapy for adults, adolescents, and children
  • Couples and family therapy
  • Group therapy
  • For personal exploration and/or for third parties (employers, physicians, schools, therapists)
  • Diagnostic clarification
  • Personality Assessment
  • Intellectual and Cognitive Functioning
  • The Clinic does not provide Learning Disability or comprehensive ADD/ADHD assessments
  • Act 235 clearances and psychological screenings for police officers
  • Tests may include, but are not limited to:
  • The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI)
  • The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-II (MMPI-2)
  • The Rorschach
The Clinic has partnered with the Hill House Association to provide Children's Art And Talk groups (CHAAT). Our therapists-in-training, artists, and community agency staff collaborate to provide culturally sensitive group counseling that includes expressive art activities to facilitate self-expression, self-confidence, emotion regulation, and coping and communication skills, and to enhance personal resilience and a sense of connection with one's community.
We have a psychiatrist in the clinic that is able to meet with clients who are in psychotherapy at our Clinic. These appointments are made in consultation with the treating therapist.

Clinic Fees

We pride ourselves in providing affordable services for the students of Duquesne University and the Pittsburgh community. The price of services are due at the time of appointment. With the exception of emergencies, clients will be charged $30 if they cancel within the 24-hour window leading up to the appointment. 

Intake: $20
Psychotherapy Sessions: 
  • Student price: $20/appointment
  • Community price: $10-$40/appointment, dependent on income

Psychiatric Sessions: $30-$70/appointment, dependent on income

FAQ's about our psychology clinic

We want everyone who participates in our services to feel safe in our space and trust that we are here to help you through life's obstacles, big and small. We have provided some frequently asked questions about our clinic, but we understand that you may have individual questions as well. We encourage you to reach out if you are interested in our services - we are here to help.

It is the process of talking with a trained professional to develop greater clarity about how one's life is going, to become more comfortable with oneself, and to develop options for greater freedom. Psychotherapy involves exploring feelings, beliefs, thoughts, and relevant events, sometimes from childhood and personal history, to establish a greater understanding of oneself and one's motivations and to gain additional skills to deal with life circumstances. At our Clinic, our therapists are being trained as clinical psychologists.
In the first session, the therapist will want to learn from you about what has brought you in to therapy. He/she is likely to ask a lot of questions in order to understand your concerns from your perspective, to learn about the contexts in which those concerns have emerged, and to learn about how best to work with you. The intake interview can move quickly and cover a lot of territory; therapy will slow down and let you take more initiative about what is talked about, and allow you to reflect between sessions. In the second session, the therapist is likely to make use of a couple of psychological tests as tools for the both of you to talk further about your concerns and what you want out of therapy.
We may want to see how you compare with other people, and whether there are themes that didn't come up in the intake interview. The clinician will ask for your clarifications of anything that came up through the tests that might be different from what was already discussed. And you can ask questions about your test patterns. Working with the tests can be collaborative.
That depends on the person. Some people find that half a dozen weekly meetings have provided ample opportunity to regroup and to continue progressing on their own. Other people continue for a couple of years, taking advantage of therapy being a process in which earlier themes and insights get reworked in light of new experiences.
Again, that depends on the person and his or her situation. Weekly is most typical, but sometimes both you and the therapist might think that twice weekly sessions allow for greater discussion.
You should say so to your therapist. Most often, together you find out what it is that's not working, and the two of you shift accordingly as you clarify each other's assumptions. Throughout your therapy, you can initiate discussion about the therapist's goals and techniques, and about your progress. Active clients get the most from their therapy.
Then you can ask your therapist and/or the Assistant to the Director to facilitate a transfer to another therapist. You can also talk with the Clinic Director if you'd like. Therapy doesn't work well if the client remains dissatisfied with the match.
Through having a safe place and time all of your own to share your concerns and reflections, you can become more aware of yourself, of how you impact others, and of options. As you develop a trusting relationship with the therapist, you can become more aware and accepting of yourself and more able to make positive changes in your life.
You will find that you're becoming ever more comfortable with yourself, accepting what can't be changed, and more open to trying yourself out in new ways. Signs of distress will diminish as therapy goes on, and you recognize what you're anxious about and what your best ways of coping with that are. You may also find that you become more resilient to face the problems that originally brought you to therapy. Therapy nearly always has its ups and downs, but the overall course is growthful.
You'll discuss that with your therapist, and if you both agree, he or she will make an appointment with our consulting psychiatrist, who will meet with both of you together at the Clinic. Our consulting psychiatric is here one half day a month.
Our therapists study many theories because theories help us to understand our clients. Primarily, our therapists are training in psychodynamic, analytical, humanistic, existential, relational, and developmental perspectives. We know that everyone is influenced by experiences growing up and by current circumstances, and that to be most helpful the therapist should enter into the client's own ways of understanding and coping with life. Sometimes you will talk about your dreams; sometimes you'll laugh together about a "Freudian slip"; sometimes you'll agree to try a new behavior during the week. Your therapist will often ask you if you've thought about this or that, or whether such and such could be true. But he or she will not tell you what to do or explain you to yourself.
If you think you might be running away from dealing with an issue, then it's probably premature to leave. Otherwise you and your therapist will talk about how therapy is going. It's good to review goals and progress regularly, sometimes adding and removing goals. Very often the client and therapist agree to stop meeting, and the client goes on to continue growing, knowing that he or she can resume therapy either very briefly or longer term at some point that seems right. It's always advisable to meet for a closing session to review your achievements and talk about your plans.

Contact the Psychology Clinic

Karen McWilliams

Office Assistant