Therapists for college students near Pittsburgh, PA

Melissa's diverse experience had lead her to focus on the importance of contentedness of relationships in fostering personal and spiritual growth in her clients. At the core, Melissa's goal is to help each person find the freedom that comes with pursuing wellness in every area of life. She strives to help people find a place of well being that goes beyond the sense of disease or illness but to a place of thriving state of health and balance.She has worked at various levels of mental health care including outpatient therapy, inpatient hospitalization, and residential treatment since 2005. In residential treatment, she worked with adolescents with behavioral difficulties and mental illness. While working in a psychiatric hospital, Melissa provided individual support and group therapy for adults, adolescents, children and their families who have struggled with disordered eating. She worked with children and their families who have struggle with anxiety and sleep disturbances in a university research setting. Her understanding of the connection between the mind and body was furthered while working in a medical hospital helping children, adolescents, and young adults with gastrointestinal disorders or sleep problems. These experiences have provided advanced knowledge in treating, not only eating disorders and anxiety but depression, sleep problems, trauma, body image disturbance, life transitions, communication difficulties, self esteem, chronic pain and other medical conditions. ​She has advanced training in non-pharmaceutical interventions, CBT for Insomnia and trauma, EMDR, attachment and dissociation. She enjoys working with transition age and early professionals who experience chronic anxiety and/or depression, complex trauma, and adjustment issues. She lived in Southeast Asia for 6 years and loves working with cultural adjustment issues.

I specialize in psychoanalysis, an intensive therapy that involves meeting multiple times a week. I provide a safe, welcoming space where together we can come to better understand and appreciate you and your unique story. I can help explore connections between your past experiences and current challenges, and help you feel more at home within yourself and out in the world. I am a careful and insightful listener, with a style that is empathic, gentle, and nonjudgemental. If you are curious about my approach and would like to know more, feel free to reach out. We can meet to see if we could be a good fit.

Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.

Welcome! Let’s explore what a meaningful and balanced life looks like for you as an undergraduate or graduate student. I work with students on managing anxiety, depression, OCD, and PTSD. I also enjoy helping students build stress management skills and navigate life transitions, identity exploration, relationship stress, or feeling “stuck” or burned out. My goal is to keep sessions feeling genuine and conversational, and to create a space where you feel comfortable being yourself while we work together on what matters most to you. I use evidence-based approaches to help you manage difficult thoughts and emotions, reduce self-criticism, and build coping skills that actually work. I also offer EMDR and Cognitive Processing Therapy for trauma, and Inference-Based CBT for OCD. If you’re curious about starting therapy or just want to see if we’re a good fit, I offer free 15-minute video consultations. Email is the best way to reach me.

I know it can be really hard to share personal information with a stranger, but I strive to create a safe, relaxed and supportive environment so my clients can feel heard and understood. Our private practice is located in McCandless and is made up of 6 counselors. We offer morning, afternoon and evening appointments (in-person or telehealth). Our office building has free and ample parking.

Rachel Porterfield is a licensed clinical social worker who provides psychotherapeutic care to adults of all ages. She has years of experience working with individuals who struggle with a variety of challenges, including anxiety/panic attacks, depression, grief and loss, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and relationship concerns. Rachel helps others to share their intimate thoughts and feelings while guiding them to learn new skills that will encourage them to develop healthy life changes openly and collaboratively. Rachel has been extensively trained in a variety of therapeutic approaches/models including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and psychodynamic therapy. Rachel has worked in outpatient dual diagnosed programs, hospitals, and primary care offices. Rachel received her master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh with a certification in mental health.

College is a time of frequent change, new experiences, identity-exploration, and uncertainty; juggling academic demands with everything else can prove daunting. If you're feeling that something needs a change, therapy might be the missing ingredient to achieving psychological wellness. Hi! I'm Em! I previously worked in Seton Hill University's Counseling Center, providing individual therapy to college students for a wide variety of issues, including anxiety, depression, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, LGBTQIA+ issues, relationship and interpersonal problems, grief, trauma, academic stress, adjustment to college, and identity exploration. My approach is relaxed, conversational, and at times fun! I am non-judgmental, welcoming, and I collaborate with you to create a personalized treatment plan. I blend traditional talk therapy (where we explore your thoughts and feelings to increase insight) and skill building (where we practice techniques to soothe and minimize distress.) You'll find me at Elements Counseling & Wellness Spa in the east end of Pittsburgh. We're a 15-20 minute drive from most of Pittsburgh's universities, but I also offer telehealth sessions. I have weekend and evening availability. Let's connect!

I’m a psychoanalyst in private practice. Though I work most frequently with graduate students and faculty, I welcome all students with an interest in learning more about themselves. As a psychoanalyst, I believe in addressing the underlying causes of problems and difficulties.

Marybeth Kennedy, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in outpatient psychotherapy with children, teens, and college-age young adults. She has practiced in the field of mental health since 1984 in a variety of settings, including foster care, schools, group homes, and in the pediatric hospital setting. Her areas of expertise include working with patients with adjustment problems, mood disorders, ADHD, and chronic medical illnesses. She focuses particularly on children and teens with anxiety. Ms. Kennedy incorporates cognitive behavior therapy, anger management training, relaxation training, mindfulness interventions, and individualized psychotherapy in her outpatient practice. Ms. Kennedy has provided consultation to schools that specialize in serving students with behavior disorders by advising teachers and administrators in best practice behavioral interventions in the school setting and in the development and implementation of school-wide behavior management systems. She has been an adjunct faculty at several colleges in the Pittsburgh area, teaching courses in psychology. She has also been a guest lecturer in the special education department at the University of Pittsburgh, addressing behavioral interventions for classroom management. Ms. Kennedy earned her master’s degrees in psychology and social work. She is an alum of West Virginia University and the University of Pittsburgh. She holds a Home-School Visitor certification from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor.

I provide specialized therapy that is individually tailored to help you solve your problems and realize your potential. Clients regularly describe my approach as effective and enjoyable since it combines practical skills with a deeper understanding of the self. Clients also appreciate that I bring authenticity, determination, and humor into the healing journey. I have extensive experience helping people from a variety of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, and I regularly work with clients in the LGBTQIA+ community. I have particular expertise and interest in working with individuals who struggle with anxiety, OCD, depression, perfectionism, self-expression, difficulty adjusting to college, relationship issues, and addictions. To treat OCD, I specifically use Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), the gold standard in OCD treatment. If even a small part of you is curious to see how things can be different, I hope to get to meet with you soon.

I know each individual is universally unique which means our thoughts, feelings and perceptions are also unique. As a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), I use a range of modalities including ACT, DBT, CBT, and Mindfulness as well as approaches catered to meet your individual needs and help support your holistic wellness. I specialize in working with adults who are college- aged who are dealing with a wide range of experiences. I have experience working with adults experiencing addiction issues, mood disorders, behavioral issues, sexual issues and relationship issues. Additionally, I specialize in anxiety and depression and have experience working with folks 17 and over. I have worked in both community mental health and outpatient settings. It takes a lot of courage to reach out for help and finding the right person to assist on the journey can feel daunting. I provide a welcoming environment, flexible scheduling and access to community resources as needed. If you would like to discuss scheduling I encourage you to reach out and start your journey to healing and wellness.

I work with college students and young adults navigating anxiety, relationships, and life transitions. My work is rooted in helping you build resilience, insight, and develop solid action methods while navigating the changes that come along in life. Whether it’s relationship challenges or uncertainty about the future, anxiety can leave you feeling exhausted and alone. I’ve found that gaining insight while identifying obstacles and problematic patterns coupled with evidenced-based tools and lots of creativity can help people build lasting life changes. My style reflects a rich sense of curiosity and warmth. I believe that humor blended with lots of respect and smart strategies can be a highly effective therapeutic tool! My goal for therapy is to help each person function at their best through all sorts of situations that pop up in life. Regardless of the type of change, change is going to happen to you at some point in life (it’ll happen a few times!) and I believe counseling can be a healthy way to navigate that transition as smoothly as possible. I am looking forward to meeting you!

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers Training and professional background: I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Art History from Saint Mary’s College in South Bend, Indiana, graduating in May of 2014. In the Fall of 2012, I received training as a victims’ advocate and crisis line operator at the Family Justice Center in South Bend. For the rest of my time as an undergraduate, I continued volunteering for the FJC, focusing on taking crisis calls, yet unaware of the skills I was building in attending to each caller’s concerns. I utilized my training again during grad school to volunteer for Crisis Text Line, where I honed my skills in crisis management and planning. In December of 2018, I graduated with my Master of Science in Education from Duquesne University, specializing in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Duquesne’s program is CACREP accredited and meets all standards and requirements as an institution for counselor education. I received my license November of 2023. Theoretical orientation and approach to counseling: My clinical approach is rooted in two orientations: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Narrative Therapy. I also draw heavily from the Humanistic-Existentialist perspectives of Psychology and philosophy in helping my clients better understand their feelings, goals, and experiences. My clinical practice embodies the spirit of meeting clients where they are. I enter each session with one objective: a readiness to talk and warmly receive. Client rights and responsibilities: As my client, I encourage you to ask questions and raise concerns about anything, especially my credentials and qualifications, the progress of our work together and its cost, my therapeutic approach, or anything else that concerns you. I take my role seriously as a helper and strongly believe that healthy relationships, especially therapeutic, require communication, consistency, and warmth. Therapeutically, we might be a good fit if: -- You are ready to make new moves in your life and relationships – So many of us know what must be done to address problematic behavior or to build better habits. What might be lacking is an awareness of the theory or tools to support those efforts. I am equipped to teach you how to individualize widely known coping skills, if you are ready to prioritize your mental health treatment. -- You are a creative person – The scaffolding or foundation you need to accomplish your long-term goals comes from your ability to generate creative solutions—no matter the medium! Your unique skills and worldviews can enrich to the work we do in the room. This takes the form of interesting, billowing conversation, not traditional art therapy. -- You are looking for a space to feel seen and heard – I take great pride in my ability to attend to the emotional needs of my clients. A dedicated space where the floor cedes to you, a conversation that is focused with warm curiosity on you, that is quickly becoming a rarity in our social interactions. While attentiveness is one of my biggest strengths to offer, I find being a witness to my clients’ concerns and vulnerabilities the greatest honor and reward in this field; we are the most human in these moments. It sets the stage for therapeutic collaboration and honors our innate drive to identify and hold our emotions without urgency or shame.

I have been in private practice for the past approximately 30 years working primarily with adults/young adults. Although I have considerable experience with what may be described as more serious anxiety and depressive disorders, my practice more typically has consisted of individuals/couples/students interested in working on quality of life, relationship and general adjustment issues.

I believe in using a holistic, strength based approach that builds on your current assets to help you achieve your goals. I work collaboratively with you to focus on individual whole health, which includes identifying your aspirations and emphasizing empowerment and self care. I have experience creating a safe and warm environment in which to incorporate evidenced based interventions and coping strategies to help improve focus and manage anxiety, grief, and depression. I also utilize expressive arts to help identify unique, creative approaches to help you improve the quality of your life. My background includes over 25 years of experience in community and school based mental health settings with diverse populations including children, adolescents, and adults. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Board Certified Art Therapist.

Hello. I have been in Private Practice for over 25 years. I have also worked in college counseling centers. My first task is to listen and fully understand the individuals that I work with. Then, we collaboratively identify skills and solutions to improve the situation. We heal old wounds and work through issues so that you can feel more at peace and reach your fullest potential.

Hello! I’m a Harvard-trained, board-certified general adult psychiatrist, based in Pittsburgh. My practice focuses on psychotherapy, and behavioral treatments. I also offer evidence-based behavioral treatment for insomnia. I see adults with with anxiety, depression, panic disorder, insomnia, and with most common mental health problems. Therapists who are warm, empathic, humble, committed to honing their skills, and who make effective positive working relationships with their patients, tend to be most effective. To paraphrase the psychotherapy scholar Leigh McCullough, a therapist should aim to do the most good, in the shortest time, with the least stress for the patient. I believe this is what it means to be patient-centered. I'm accepting new patients for telehealth visits throughout Pennsylvania, or for in-person visits at my office in Shadyside (in Pittsburgh). I accept private pay, and, through the Headway app, selected health insurances (including Aetna & Cigna).

At Creating Connections Counseling, we believe that anyone can benefit from counseling. If you find yourself struggling with the challenges of life, counseling services can help you to clarify your thoughts and emotions and put them in proper context to guide you forward. Counseling can be a vehicle to finding or maintaining healthy relationships, uncovering hidden passions, managing symptoms of mental illness, and establishing life goals for those who feel stuck. Our team of licensed clinicians in the Pittsburgh region are available to guide you through the journey of self-examination and personal growth that all people deserve. Creating Connections Counseling is a safe space where all are welcome. We believe in the intrinsic value of all human beings and are here to serve all who seek our help.

Our practice provides psychoanalytic psychotherapy. A psychoanalytic approach to treatment offers a comprehensive and nuanced framework for addressing trauma, anxiety, depression, identity struggles, self-esteem, and a sense of self. If advisable, we can also provide careful expert medication management that is informed by our therapeutic work together. Our approach facilitates an environment where people are able to communicate their thoughts, feelings, and wishes in a setting that is inherently collaborative, caring, and non-judgemental. A strong therapeutic relationship is the most powerful means of treatment and developing this alliance is an essential priority for me.