UAB - School of Education - Community Counseling Clinic

Welcome to the
UAB Counseling Clinic

The Counselor Education Program in the Department of Human Studies offers affordable counseling services to the residents of Jefferson County through its Community Counseling Clinic. Well-trained graduate students, supervised by experienced faculty members, conduct all counseling sessions. Our counselors are compassionate and effective, and our services are collaborative, goal-oriented, and personalized for each client. Since our clinic is also a teaching center, all counseling sessions are recorded so that Counselor Education program faculty can review and assess client progress, monitor the need for medical services, and evaluate clinical interventions.

Services

The UAB Community Counseling Clinic offers counseling services to members of the Greater Birmingham area. Students enrolled at UAB who seek the services of a counselor are encouraged to email the UAB Counseling and Wellness Center or call 205-934-5816. Employees of UAB who seek counseling services may contact the UAB Employee Assistance Resource Center at alesia@uab.edu or 205-934-2281.

Clients

Children (ages 8 and older)

Adolescents (ages 12 and older)

Adults

Seniors

Therapy Offered

Individual

Group

Family

Couples/Martial

Fees

Fees are assessed on a sliding scale—from $5 per individual session to no more than $30 per session.

Meet with a Counselor
To schedule an appointment, please call 205-996-2414

Frequently Asked Questions

About the Clinic

Mission
The Community Counseling Clinic at the University of Alabama at Birmingham aims to increase access to outpatient mental health counseling services in Jefferson County, to provide an innovative educational experience for the UAB graduate counseling students, and to operate a flexible research lab capable of accommodating various interests and funding opportunities.
Vision
To become an integral service provider of outpatient counseling services in Jefferson County and to become an exemplar in the counseling profession through innovations in research, practice, teaching, and clinical training.
Values

Accountability—We have a duty to provide responsible and ethical services, to create an effective training site for graduate counseling students, and to conduct innovative and ethical research.
Affordability—We provide effective services at low cost to increase community access to outpatient counseling services.
Caring and Responsive Service—We strive to exceed the expectations of our clients and to create a supportive, responsive, and calming atmosphere where all involved are treated with empathy, dignity, and respect.
Collaboration—We seek to build collaborative partnerships with community providers and research entities.
Commitment to Professional Excellence—We offer evidenced-based counseling interventions informed by current research and continuously strive toward improvement.
Data—We use data to improve the effectiveness of services and to guide our decisions.
Diversity—We value individual differences and provide a multicultural and sensitive environment free from discrimination and inequity.
Growth—We value the professional growth of counselors as they develop from novices into experts with the corresponding knowledge, skills, and disposition.
Integrity—We value honesty, diligence, trustworthiness, moral reasoning, and ethical conduct.
A Student-centered Approach—We strive to prepare counselors who can support the development of their clients from adolescence through adulthood.
Standards—We align our training standards with the established guidelines of the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Programs (CACREP).
Training—We strive to enhance the training experience through technology and innovative supervision.
Philosophy

Mental illness leads to impairments in thinking, behavior, and interpersonal functioning that can adversely affect our wellbeing, compromise our performance at work or school, and negatively impact our personal relationships. The goal of our clinic is to promote wellbeing through therapeutic interventions designed to enhance emotional and psychological health.
Strategic Plan

Mission
The Community Counseling Clinic at the University of Alabama at Birmingham aims to increase access to outpatient mental health counseling services in Jefferson County, to provide an innovative educational experience for the UAB graduate counseling students, and to operate a flexible research lab capable of accommodating various interests and funding opportunities.
Goal 1: Quality Enhancement
Expand to Children under 12 (new faculty hired for AY 15-16)
Offer Educational Testing Services (goal removed after investigation)
Build a Clinical Assessment Inventory (expand to include child, couples, and family assessments)
Enhance MCF Treatment (faculty hired; curriculum proposal approved by ADCOM) Therapeutic Assessment (completed)
Goal 2: Optimized Learning Environment
Establish Electronic Health Record System (approvals acquired; cost sharing agreement in process)
Increase Faculty Participation (completed)
Monitor Learning Outcomes (initial process complete; revision in progress)
Goal 3: Clinical Research
Secure External Funding for Research and Training
Promote Outcome-based Clinical Research

In Progress
• Department-funded CALM pilot study; plans for NIH proposal

In Development
• Department pilot study proposed
• NIH R21/Early Career Proposal
• Pilot proposal with Midfield City Schoolsto be submitted for President's/ Dean's funding

Research Personnel
• New faculty hired for AY 15-16 with Clinic research expectations
Executive Summary: Funding, Impact, and Future Priorities
Funding Sources
• School of Education: Director's Salary, Clinic space
• Department of Human Studies: Technology, Furniture, Assessment, Program
• Lab Fees: Maintenance
• Client Fees: Office supplies

Impact to Date
• 579 unduplicated clients (average of 112 served per year)
• Collaborations: Psychiatric Nursing, Kinesiology, Parker High School, Health Education, Genetic Counseling, Midfield School District
• 120 Counseling Education Program students received training in the clinic
• 64 unduplicated referral sources

Future Priorities
• Increase referrals from UAB sources
• Increase collaborations with UAB colleagues
• Expand the range and impact of services

Faculty Supervisors

Sean Hall, Ph.D. | Clinic Director & Faculty Supervisor
Dr. Sean Hall is an Assistant Professor of Counselor Education and Clinic Director for the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He earned his Ph.D. in Counseling, specializing in Clinical Mental Health from Old Dominion University in 2012. Dr. Hall’s research interests are psychotherapy process and outcomes, measurement, and research methodology. Dr. Hall’s clinical areas include cognitive behavioral therapy, suicide assessment, interdisciplinary treatment teams, and evidence based interventions for severe and persistent mental illness.
Shannon McCarthy, Ph.D. | Faculty Supervisor
Dr. Shannon McCarthy earned a doctorate of philosophy from University of Florida. She has taught courses in teacher education, family, youth, and community sciences, and counselor education at the University of Florida. Dr. McCarthy has had extensive training and clinical experience in counseling in community mental health and medical settings as well as marriage and family therapy. Her research focuses on counselor development/ training, the effect of mental illness on families and family-school collaboration, particularly the effect and improvement of family systems training for school counselors and other school-based personnel. She will teach graduate courses in our counselor education program and continue to develop her research concerning families’ involvement in schools and family systems.
Larry Tyson, Ph.D. | Faculty Supervisor
Dr. Larry Tyson is an Associate Professor in the Counselor Education Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He has been the lead editor for three counseling books, the latest being “Critical Incidents in Clinical Supervision,” published by the American Counseling Association. He is currently the advisor of the School Counseling Concentration (UAB) and serves as Program Coordinator of the Counselor Education Program. Dr. Tyson is also the principle investigator on a Department of Education Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) state grant.
Dayna Watson, Ph.D. | Faculty Supervisor
Dayna Watson completed a Ph.D. in Counseling and Counselor Education from the University of Florida. She has extensive experience and training in clinical supervision and mental health counseling, specializing in counseling children, adolescents, and young adults. Dr. Watson’s clinical areas include play therapy techniques and creative interventions with children and adolescents, group therapy with young children, and cognitive therapy. Her research interests include issues of social class and poverty in mental health counseling, community-school collaboration, and counseling student development.

Directions and Parking

Community Counseling Clinic
1st floor of the UAB School of Education
Campus Green
Sterne Library
Alys Stephens Center

Finding the Clinic
The UAB Community Counseling Clinic is located in Room 157 of the School of Education building, which is itself located in the middle of the block between 13th and 14th Streets South and between University Boulevard and 10th Avenue South.

Turn-by-Turn Directions
From I-65 Southbound:

Take the 4th Avenue South Exit.
This is a one way street headed east.
Stay on 4th Avenue South until you come to the 14th Street South intersection.
Take a right onto 14th Street South.
Stay on 14th Street South until you cross University Blvd. (also 8th Ave. South). The School of Education is located on the right side of 14th Street South, between University Blvd and 10th Avenue South.

From I-65 Northbound

Take the University Blvd. Exit (Also 8th Avenue South).
As you merge with University Blvd., stay in the right hand or middle lane.
You will see an overhead crosswalk at the intersection of University and 13th Street South.
You may turn right on 13th Street South and the School of Education will be on your left. If you choose to continue on University Blvd to 14th Street South and turn right, the School of Education will be on your right.

Address
Community Counseling Clinic
901 13th Street South
Room 157
Birmingham, Alabama 35294-1250
Driving Directions

Parking
Parallel parking (with two-hour, quarters only meters) is available along 13th and 14th Streets and along 10th Avenue South.
Click to view parking map

Values