For 50 years, the Kansas State Family Center has addressed the need for affordable mental health care in Manhattan — a problem that’s especially relevant among college students. 

“One of the most significant parts of this stage of life is how much transition is going on,” Jennifer Smith, assistant teaching professor in psychological sciences, said. “It’s not only that you’ve often left your home of origin, you’ve left your family; whether functional or not functional, you still left familiarity. You’ve left stability. Financially, often students come out to college on a limited income, and sometimes that can be an upheaval.” 

The Family Center offers therapy services on a sliding fee scale, depending on factors like the client’s income and household, with pricing services ranging from $10-90 per session. 

The clinic recently opened its services to new clients, and clinic director Patricia Barros said anyone in Kansas is eligible. 

“When we operate on a sliding scale, we need to be consistent, so treating everybody the same way,” Barros said. “We go with what the client indicates as their net income, and then based on how many people depend on that money … it’s basically what you can afford.”

Sophomore in elementary education, Augusta Miller said price is a main point college students must consider when seeking care.

“Not having enough money does make me feel like I can’t get good enough mental health care,” Miller said. “There are free therapy options, but I’m not necessarily interested in them because they’re either online therapy, which I don’t think would work for me, or with a therapist I don’t mesh with.”

Barros said the Family Center provides high-quality care tailored to the client that is just as effective as private-practice care. 

“I really think clients come here not because of it being a low fee. I am proud of the work that we do here. Our sessions are supervised by trained, seasoned therapists and supervisors, so the clients are getting good service.”

Smith said the Family Center allows college students to work with someone they can relate to and feel comfortable with. 

“A lot of times your clinician will be someone within a few years of you,” she said. “Now, while that can upset, in some ways, maybe an older person coming in from the community, for a college-aged student, they walk in, somebody’s being trained, they know it’s maybe their second or third semester in the master’s program — they know where they’re coming from, so it’s an automatic kinship.” 

Smith said providers at the Family Center offer individualized mental health services, which are hard to find around K-State without paying for a private practice.

“Students on campus are allowed to go to Lafene,” she said. “They’re allowed eight free sessions a semester, as paid for by their student fees. However, they’re wildly underfunded, and so they don’t have enough clinicians, and the clinicians can’t be guaranteed to be seen every time a person goes in for those eight sessions. They may be scheduled with someone else.”  

The Family Center does not use student service fees to fund its practice.

“Most of the expenses that we have — it’s funded by the income that we have from the clients,” Barros said. “We are not for-profit. Literally, we are not. We make money to pay the expenses that we have.”

Barros said The Family Center is equipped to see patients quickly once they inquire about therapy services.

“We are not on our wait list right now, so typically it may take, like, one or two days for somebody to reach out to schedule the first session.”

Barros said she’s received positive feedback from clients who’ve utilized services from the Family Center.

“I think we are planting a seed in many situations,” she said. “The students here come in and get the services they need to, and then they leave when they graduate. Some people develop beautiful skills that they take with them forever.”

To set up an appointment with the Family Center, fill out the Request for Therapy Services form on their website.