Jonathan House Emerald
Dr. John Miller (center) chats with intern therapists Asha Dutia (left) and Katie Walwyn in the observation room at the Center for Family Therapy.
When junior Katie Dorst started arguing with her boyfriend of more than two years, she decided it was time to end the relationship.
She said seeking therapy never occurred to her — she wasn’t married, and she figured the arguing meant it was time to move on.
But the idea that therapy is only for major crises is something intern therapists at the Center for Family Therapy hope to change. The “teaching hospital,” which has been open since April 2001, offers therapy for individuals, couples and families, said clinical director John Miller.
Clinical services are provided by University graduate student interns working toward a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy. The center is located above Mother Kali’s Books on East 13th Avenue.
Right now, about 10 percent of the center’s clients are students. Intern therapists said they hope students will utilize the facilities without feeling embarrassed or stigmatized.
As a teaching hospital, the center provides low-cost health care services that regular agencies can’t, Miller said.
Sessions are charged on a sliding scale of $10 to $40 an hour, but Miller said he “won’t refuse any services based on an ability to pay.”
Interns spend their first year listening or watching previous sessions with a client’s permission and interacting with the therapists. They spend their second year seeing clients. One advantage of a teaching hospital is that intern therapists are in school and learning the most up-to-date material, Miller said.
Couples can also watch their own arguments from previous sessions on the video playback option in some of the rooms — a new technology advancement that many clinics don’t offer.
“It’s a really good way to show a couple how they’ve changed, how much they’ve accomplished,” said Katie Walwyn, a second-year intern therapist.
Individuals often come in because of depression, anxiety, anger or stress, Miller said.
He said couples commonly come to the center because of “communication problems.”
But most couples are communicating very well, he said.
“It’s, ‘I know what you want and you know what I want — I just don’t like what you want,’” he said.
Sometimes therapy teaches a couple how to “disengage in the least destructive way,” he said.
Walwyn added that couples often don’t know what they want, regardless of age or past relationship experience.
Pre-doctorate intern Christie Eppler said she sees her role as a therapist not as fixing all of a couple’s problems but as facilitating change in a relationship.
“I give (couples) new information to help them see their problems differently,” she said. “I also see my role as respecting my clients. This is a place they can go and not be judged. It gives them the courage to make changes in their life and their relationship.”
Dorst, however, didn’t think therapy would have been in the best interest of her relationship.
“I think if a couple needs to seek therapy before their marriage, then it’s a sign that they should break up,” she said. “Therapy is the kind of thing you only consider if you’ve had a major trauma or you’ve been in a marriage for years.”
Miller, Walwyn and Eppler agree there is a stigma around therapy, and people tend to use it as a last resort.
“If we could get people to come in when they first notice a problem, we could change that dynamic. You approach a doctor when you first notice a fever. But people don’t seek out therapy until they have massive fractures and internal hemorrhaging,” Miller said. “For that reason, we encourage people to come in for a ‘check-up,’ even if you’re not sure there’s a problem.”
To make an appointment or get more information about the Center for Family Therapy, call 346-3296.
E-mail reporter Diane Huber
at [email protected].