Support From New York City's Capital Budget, Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., and Council Members Vacca and Cohen Shows Commitment to Mental Health Services in the Bronx

The Max and Celia Parnes Family Psychological and Psychoeducational Services Clinic, part of Yeshiva University’s Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, has been awarded a grant of $1,025,000 from the New York City Capital Budget. The funding --- which is an amalgamation of funding through the offices of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and New York City Council Members James Vacca and Andrew Cohen --- will allow the center to move to a renovated space and, in doing so, increase the number of families it is able to serve.

The clinic, which is the third largest training clinic in the country, serves more than 600 clients each year for approximately 18,000 contact hours. For more than 45 years, it has provided low-cost, confidential, state-of-the-art mental health services for children, adolescents, adults, couples and families. The focus has been to provide compassionate care to individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds, regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, culture, sexual orientation, political orientation, marital status, religious affiliation or physical or medical disability. 

“At the core of Yeshiva University lies the principal that we must use our talents and resources in the service of others,” said Dr. Ari Berman, president of Yeshiva University. “The Parnes Clinic educates the next generation of mental health professionals to direct their stellar skills and abilities to reach out with kindness and compassion to all those in need.”

“We feel so fortunate to have received this capital funding,” said Dr. William Salton, director of the clinic. “The new space will allow us to enhance our current services and increase our capacity to serve additional members of the community.” 

The new state-of-the-art facility will be 5,000 square feet and include 17 assessment and therapy rooms, as well as rooms for conducting play therapy with children, group therapy, a patient waiting area, and an office for the clinical director and his staff. 

The clinic provides first-class training to the student base, and world-class mental health services to Bronx families, regardless of their ability to pay. Among the services provided are psychological and educational testing for children, adolescents and adults; and individual, family and couples therapy. Most clients are from the surrounding community and all across the Bronx.

“It is so important that we provide families with mental health services regardless of their income,” said Council Member Andrew Cohen, chair of the Committee on Mental Health. “The Parnes Family Psychological and Psychoeducational Services Clinic provides a wide range of services to families including psychological and educational testing for children that they may not be able to find elsewhere. Identifying mental health illness early is one of the best things we can do to properly treat mental illness in children and adolescents. I’m grateful for their work in the community and am thrilled they will be expanding to serve even more families.”

“I am pleased to welcome the newly renovated Max and Celia Parnes Family Psychological and Psychoeducational Services Center to Morris Park,” said Council Member James Vacca. “I allocated $287,000 from the capital budget so this center could move into a new space and expand their current services to the community. The new state-of-the-art clinic will provide invaluable services to Bronx families.”