Oklahoma Christian University, in partnership with the Chickasaw Nation, is ushering in its first full school year with an on-campus mental health clinic providing low-cost services for Oklahomans and hands-on experience to marriage and family therapy masters students.

OCU’s Family Therapy Clinic opened in January, offering services like individual, couples, and children and adolescent counseling in its six-room clinic on campus and via telehealth. Three faculty members lead the clinic and observe master’s students with one semester of classes under their belt as they counsel clients.

The clinic doesn’t take health insurance, but its service pay scale ranges from $25-75 based on income. The clinic accepts payments from health savings accounts and offers fee adjustments for people with financial barriers.

Although OCU is a faith-based university, Patterson said clinicians can provide care with or without Christian values based on clients’ preference. The clinic seeks to provide therapy to everyone, regardless of age, race and sexual orientation.

Jennifer Patterson, the clinic’s director, said the trade-off of a training clinic with recorded and observed sessions is high-quality, low-cost care that combines knowledge from experienced faculty members and eager students.

“So that’s the most exciting thing is like, change is happening, good therapy services are happening, and that we just know that that's going to continue to multiply as our therapists go out into their jobs and establish a career, that more people will be receiving high-quality therapy,” Patterson said.

The clinic currently sees about 30 cases a week, but faculty hope to expand its services through its telehealth offerings. A list of services is available on the clinic’s website, and first-time appointments can be scheduled through this form.