Family Stress Clinic
The Family Stress Clinic is a psychotherapy clinic within the
Department of Family Medicine at UVA's Primary Care Center. Family
Stress was started in the 1970's by Dr. David Waters, Ph.D., who had a
vision of a setting where individuals and families could seek
psychotherapy and support at the same location where they saw their
family doctor. This would allow patients to feel more comfortable than
they might going to a different clinic AND would allow seamless
collaboration between the psychotherapists and medical doctors on the
many issues that affect both mind and body. The clinic's philosophy was
that all patients face personal and family challenges in their lives,
and that well-timed psychological consultation could make a strong
positive impact on patients' overall health and well-being. Today the
Family Stress Clinic continues very much in that tradition, where
patients and families from all over Virginia seek counsel and support
as they navigate the challenges of life. The Family Stress Clinic
operates from a strengths-based approach, where we respect and utilize
each patient's natural strengths to help him or her develop as healthy
and vibrant a life as possible. We utilize a variety of psychological
modalities that are chosen and individually tailored to each patient,
including cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy,
psychodynamic techniques, mindfulness, acceptance and commitment
techniques, and structural family therapy.
The Family Stress Clinic is staffed by two clinical psychologists
on the faculty of Family Medicine, Claudia Allen,
Ph.D. and Ted Siedlecki, Jr.,
Ph.D. In addition, advanced doctoral students from UVA's clinical
psychology programs, as well as medical residents in Family Medicine
and Psychiatry, train in the clinic and see patients under the
supervision of Drs. Allen and Siedlecki. We see individuals, couples
and families with a wide variety of challenges that include
relationship difficulties, parenting issues, child and adolescent
behavior problems, anxiety, depression, trauma, attachment issues, and
adjustment to illness or loss. Being part of UVA's Health System, we
are fortunate to have access to interpreters who allow us to work with
patients who speak any language or who are hearing impaired. When we
don't think our services are a good match for a patient, we do our best
to refer people to other providers who can meet their needs.
Many of our clients come from the Primary Care
Center, as well as other parts of the hospital, but also from
outside the University. Patients can be referred by their doctor, or
can just call us themselves. Payment is through the same system by
which one would access any medical service at UVA. Most insurance plans
cover our services and require a co-pay. Low income persons can be seen
on a sliding scale basis through UVA's Financial Screening
process.
Some people who are referred for psychological assistance are
worried that they won't be able to afford long-term therapy or may just
not be interested in that. In fact, the psychological literature
indicates that many people benefit from even one consultation with an
experienced professional focused on his or her specific needs. We find
that while some families need and want ongoing therapy, others only
need a few or even just one meeting to help them regain their footing
on a healthy forward track. Therefore, here at Family Stress we offer
patients who we think may benefit the option of a single session
consultation. Others are offered a brief series of sessions, and others
are offered a more open-ended treatment. In all situations, the patient
and the therapist decide together on the best approach.
Persons interested in services at the Family Stress Clinic may
call (434) 243-6868 for more information or to request an appointment.
If we have no open appointments at the time you call, we may offer you
suggestions or other providers who may be able to meet your needs, as
well as the option of being on our waiting list.
