Mental Health Center Opens in Azusa

Azusa Pacific University has opened a Family Care Center to provide mental-health services for low-income residents in the San Gabriel Valley.

Besides providing low-cost counseling, the center, 777 E. Alosta Ave., will be a clinical training facility for the school’s 100 graduate counseling students. The staff is headed by George Larsen and includes Azusa Pacific faculty members, graduates of the school’s counseling programs and graduate students in the schools of education and behavioral studies, nursing and theology. Clients are charged between $1 and $40 for each session, based on ability to pay.

University spokesmen said the center was founded after a survey of 11 cities and their school districts indicated that a majority of community leaders believe mental-health services for the poor are inadequate in the area.

Family, marital, child and adolescent therapy are conducted in English, Spanish and three dialects of Chinese. Foothill Community Church, Sierra Royale Hospital and Laird Counseling & Associates are providing some services. The center is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.