Bothin Foundation Grant Helps Clinic Create Safer Space

CIIS completed significant capital improvements on the Integral Counseling Center at Church Street, thanks to a generous grant of $35,000 from the Bothin Foundation. This training clinic, housed in a 1908 Edwardian on the Noe Valley/Mission District border, has served as a beloved community resource for nearly 40 years, providing culturally responsive counseling to thousands of low- and moderate-income clients on a sliding-scale basis.

Church Street's staff of approximately 30 student clinicians and post-graduate interns from the CIIS Integral Counseling Psychology program delivers about 200 weekly therapy sessions to 250-300 adults, seniors, adolescents, and children a year. Many clients belong to marginalized groups—people of color, LGBTQ+, and immigrants—and present a range of issues including anxiety, depression, grief, PTSD, employment-related stressors, substance abuse, and domestic violence.

Church Street is unique as the only university-affiliated Gestalt/existential therapy center in the U.S.; these modalities, which emphasize themes of difference and inclusion, are especially well-suited to diverse clients. The current cohort of Church Street clinicians offers therapy in 13 languages.

With age comes wisdom—and significant maintenance needs as well. The Foundation's grant made it possible to replace the clinic's roof and ensure the building meets safety codes. As Clinic Manager Debbie Stone puts it, the improvements "make the building sustainable, and we're all about sustainable well-being here." 

The Foundation's funding also enabled major upgrades to the clinic's electrical system, as well as window repairs that boost energy efficiency, reduce external noise, and limit sound traveling from one room to another—thus providing increased privacy and confidentiality. A range of other building repairs has brought greater safety, comfort, and beauty to clients, therapists, and faculty alike, improving the quality of the therapeutic environment.

CIIS is profoundly grateful for the Bothin Foundation's investment in the Integral Counseling Center at Church Street and looks forward to continuing the clinic's caring legacy in the coming decades. Stone sums it up this way: 

I feel like we can trust and count on our building now. That's changed our future. 

In addition to Church Street, CIIS operates five other counseling centers and two acupuncture clinics located throughout San Francisco. These award-winning clinics deliver high-quality, affordable therapy and wellness services to more than 6,000 clients annually. Make an appointment today!