Psychological Services of Riverside opens to serve the mental health needs of the community

Riverside, Calif. (Sept. 26, 2019) – Psychological Services of Riverside (PSR) hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony on Sept. 25, marking the opening of the center. The center will help the mental health needs of the community in addition to training California Baptist University doctoral students.

The PSR clinic will offer psychological counseling, assessment and consultation services to residents of Riverside and nearby communities, while seeking to support underserved populations in the area. The clinic will offer such services as individual, child, family, couples and group therapy; psychoeducation; psychological assessment; and consultation. Services will be provided on a sliding fee scale.

Psychological Services of Riverside also will provide a second-year training experience for students in the Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology (PsyD) program in CBU’s College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. The students will be supervised by licensed psychologists—mostly CBU faculty—who also will provide services at the clinic.

Deandra Edison-Riley, a PsyD student at CBU, spoke during the ceremony about her journey to become a clinical psychologist.

“I'm very excited to be among the first to provide psychotherapy to members of the community here at the Psychological Services of Riverside,” Edison-Riley said. “It is my faith, which powers my God-given purpose to come alongside those who are suffering and walk with them down the path toward healing.”

Roi Sorbel, a PsyD student at CBU, said he hopes the opening of the clinic will continue to bring awareness to mental health issues. 

“[Psychological Services of Riverside] will raise mental health awareness especially with young adults and elementary schools,” Sorbel said. “Nowadays mental health is becoming such a great thing to talk about because everyone is affected by it.”

CBU faculty members and staff in addition to Riverside city and community officials were on hand for the ribbon cutting ceremony and open house.

“As we seek to serve our neighbors together, I'm confident that we can make an incredible difference for those individuals, families and groups suffering in our community,” said Dr. Jacqueline Gustafson, dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at CBU. “If we might be just a small part of a collective force to make Riverside a stronger and more supported community and bring hope and healing to those who are most suffering, we will consider our work worthwhile.”

Dr. Ronald L. Ellis, president of CBU, said this center will affect individual lives for the good of society.

“[CBU’s] legacy is to make a positive impact in other people's lives,” Ellis said. “Thank you so much for being here at this dedication and for helping to make this be something that is a real value for the Riverside community.”