Therapists for college students near Pittsburgh, PA

Life is full of unexpected ups and downs that we may not always be able to manage alone. In my practice, I specialize in collaborating with clients to navigate difficult life changes with greater peace, clarity, and confidence. I take a highly individualized, holistic, and client-centered approach. During sessions, you can expect to explore underlying beliefs, past experiences, unhelpful patterns, and personal strengths that can all make change possible. Additionally, I enjoy incorporating mindfulness techniques and creative coping skills into our sessions. Through self-exploration and effective strategies, you can develop greater personal power to cope with what life throws at you. I primarily work with individuals facing feelings of anxiety, depression, trauma symptoms, or challenges from chronic illnesses and autoimmune disorders. While bringing a peaceful calmness, I also like to include humor and lightheartedness in sessions. I'm a creative person at heart, who loves cartoons and spending time in nature. If you've been contemplating starting therapy, now is the best time to give it a shot. Talking about mental health can be difficult and uncomfortable at times, but the sooner we start, the sooner we can begin the path toward healing. While fear and anxiety around therapy can be overwhelming, you have the strength to work through those feelings and take control of your life. You got this!

Our practice provides psychoanalytic psychotherapy. A psychoanalytic approach to treatment offers a comprehensive and nuanced framework for addressing trauma, anxiety, depression, identity struggles, self-esteem, and a sense of self. If advisable, we can also provide careful expert medication management that is informed by our therapeutic work together. Our approach facilitates an environment where people are able to communicate their thoughts, feelings, and wishes in a setting that is inherently collaborative, caring, and non-judgemental. A strong therapeutic relationship is the most powerful means of treatment and developing this alliance is an essential priority for me.

At Sensory and Sensibility, our therapists can help you with anxiety, depression, family issues, sexuality or gender identity exploration, and all kinds of other concerns. We tailor your therapy to fit your needs, using a variety of evidence-based therapies, including cultural-relational, mind-body, attachment-based, cognitive/insight based, strengths-based and trauma focused. Feel free to reach out to schedule a free initial phone call to see if any of our therapists would be a good fit for you.

Are you not where you want to be or struggling to be happy with where you are in life? Did you plan for things to be different at this moment in your journey through life? Most individuals go through this at some point in their lifetime and I'm here to help you navigate your journey to the path you want to be on. I have worked with diverse clientele for my background and with individuals who experience depression, anxiety, stress management, addiction, chronic pain, trauma and life transitions. The different therapeutic modalities I utilize include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Motivational Interviewing. I work to create a safe place that empowers clients to be their authentic selves while feeling seen and heard. I believe that my job as a therapist is to meet each individual where they are and to get them where they want to be.

Helping people feel more connected, alive and easeful in a difficult world is what excites me about the therapeutic process. While living with mental health challenges, it is difficult to know how to get unstuck or even to remember a time when things felt okay. I work collaboratively with clients to build on their strengths and identify goals that align with their values. We all develop strategies for survival that can be limiting over time. We can create more options that go beyond old strategies through practicing new ways of relating, recognizing nervous system patterns and strengthening the mind-body connection. Some of the approaches and techniques I use include parts work, attachment theory, mind-body therapy, guided visualization, somatic and movement based therapy. I am trauma focused and informed with an understanding of how systemic oppression contributes to illness, especially for those whose identities are devalued or erased.

Are you trying to navigate life's many challenges in a more flexible, aware, and skillful way? Let's collaborate to change patterns that aren't working for you. Respecting that you are the expert on your life and goals, I will integrate my training and experiences to support you in growth. Individuals often work with me to shift patterns of anxiety or depressed mood, to reclaim the energy wasted on perfectionism or overly harsh self-criticism, to reduce procrastination and improve effectiveness, to make progress on health goals, to improve the quality of their relationships, and to manage stress more efficiently. I also specialize in perinatal mental health (pregnancy, post-partum, fertility, loss) and in working with parents of children of all ages. Most people I work with choose online therapy, and some meet with me in the office. As a member of PSYPACT I can often continue to work with you online while you visit home or work/study outside of PA. (For participating states: https://psypact.org/page/psypactmap)

Serenity Counseling, LLC, was created to provide competent psychological counseling while maintaining the utmost confidentiality, respecting the various cultural differences between clients and practicing ethically and responsibly. Serenity Counseling provides an objective, non-judgmental atmosphere where clients will be validated, empowered and encouraged. Serenity Counseling LLC consists of professional therapists, licensed in the State of Pennsylvania and Certified by National Boards. Serenity Counseling features support for a variety of stressors

Brynne has a history of working with college age students in an outpatient setting. Brynne works with students in all stages of their college experience. From students who are taking 1-2 classes to students who are in technical schools to students working on certificates to students who are non-traditional students to students who are working on their associates to their bachelors, master’s, PhD and/or MD degrees. She has assisted young adults with navigating the transition to college, learning coping skills and life skills, and managing evolving relationships and life stressors while adjusting to setting safe and healthy boundaries in their lives. Brynne also has a history of working with students who have moved from other countries to pursue their education in the United States of America. She has worked with the students to assist them in working through their emotions related to becoming acclimated to a new country, learning/incorporating new cultural norms, navigating familial expectations and other feelings as they arise.

Mark Thomas, PhD, DBSM, is a licensed clinical psychologist and board-certified behavioral sleep medicine specialist who is passionate about improving patients' sleep. Dr. Thomas earned his doctoral in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and completed his clinical internship at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. He received specialized behavioral sleep medicine training and experience during his postdoctoral fellowship at VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, where he addressed a wide range of sleep issues in Veterans. He is the founder of Restore Sleep Health, a telehealth private practice offering evidence-based therapy to adults with sleep disorders. Dr. Thomas’ clinical work is focused on the treatment of sleep issues including insomnia, PAP adherence, circadian rhythm disorders, and nightmares.

The Counseling Center provides compassionate and professional outpatient counseling to anyone seeking support for life's many challenges. Our team of licensed professional counselors, clinical social workers, and marriage and family therapists are ready to help you work through issues such as trauma, stress, anxiety, depression, family/partner conflict, anger, life transitions, and loss and grief. We serve clients of nearly all ages and backgrounds. Our practice consists of a diverse group of licensed clinicians who have experience with a wide variety of treatment modalities and professional backgrounds. Treatment can be provided in-person, via telehealth, or via a hybrid option. We serve individuals, couples, or families. Allow us to support you on your journey towards healing and improving your mental health and wellness. We don't ask "What's wrong?" but rather "What happened? And how can we help?" Come to the Counseling Center to experience professional care in a confidential, non-judgmental, and supportive setting.

I am a licensed clinical social worker in private practice and have worked with a wide range of clients over my career, from teenage years all the way through late adulthood. I specifically specialize in Women's Health, where I help those struggling with PMDD, hormone related mood/anxiety issues as well as perinatal mental health, infertility and loss. In addition to this specialty, I very much enjoy working with college-aged individuals navigating depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, OCD, trauma and grief and loss. College can be a time of growth for many and also a time of major transition and change. I would be privledged to work together with you to help navigate this time in your life.

College is a time of frequent change, new experiences, identity-exploration, and uncertainty; juggling academic demands with everything else can prove daunting. If you're feeling that something needs a change, therapy might be the missing ingredient to achieving psychological wellness. Hi! I'm Em! I previously worked in Seton Hill University's Counseling Center, providing individual therapy to college students for a wide variety of issues, including anxiety, depression, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, LGBTQIA+ issues, relationship and interpersonal problems, grief, trauma, academic stress, adjustment to college, and identity exploration. My approach is relaxed, conversational, and at times fun! I am non-judgmental, welcoming, and I collaborate with you to create a personalized treatment plan. I blend traditional talk therapy (where we explore your thoughts and feelings to increase insight) and skill building (where we practice techniques to soothe and minimize distress.) You'll find me at Elements Counseling & Wellness Spa in the east end of Pittsburgh. We're a 15-20 minute drive from most of Pittsburgh's universities, but I also offer telehealth sessions. I have weekend and evening availability. Let's connect!

I founded Tranquil Trails with a vision to create a therapeutic space where young adults entering the "real" world feel safe to bring their whole selves into the room—without fear of judgment or dismissal, using unconditional positive regard and holistic therapy that encompass an individual and does not place people into boxes or make assumptions. I believe that when we as therapists approach our work with the vulnerability, compassion, and transparency of our humanness, we invite our clients to do the same. At Tranquil Trails, we specialize in working with youth and adults—as they navigate the ebbs and flows of transitional age, complicated by economic hardship, daily reminders of systemic oppression, access to violent videos occurring in real time across the world, AI and misinformation, fear of rights being taken away or have been, frequent complicated family histories with psychosocial stressors daily. And on top of that many of our clients are in college, graduate school, medical school or pursuing an academic career. We invite our clients into the process of collaborative treatment planning, using their own words to create positive and achievable goals. We notice when something is different and we highlight it. We teach them that to see the positives in oneself is to go against the grain of all we have been taught as members of the system. Overachieve, don’t rest, never stop producing, never slow down. We are missing out on life, and the ability to sit with emotions. The ability to notice any positive emotions at all. Our vision at Tranquil Trails is to create a compassionate, inclusive, and supportive community where individuals feel empowered to take charge of their mental health journey. We aim to foster a world where mental health struggles are not only normalized but seen as a trait of humanness, and where healing, personal growth, and resilience are accessible to all. We envision a future where every client, regardless of background or limitations, has the tools, support, and confidence to craft a life that works for them. Through authenticity, collaboration, and evidence-based care, we strive to break the stigma around mental health and create lasting positive change in the lives of those we serve.

At Creating Connections Counseling, we believe that anyone can benefit from counseling. If you find yourself struggling with the challenges of life, counseling services can help you to clarify your thoughts and emotions and put them in proper context to guide you forward. Counseling can be a vehicle to finding or maintaining healthy relationships, uncovering hidden passions, managing symptoms of mental illness, and establishing life goals for those who feel stuck. Our team of licensed clinicians in the Pittsburgh region are available to guide you through the journey of self-examination and personal growth that all people deserve. Creating Connections Counseling is a safe space where all are welcome. We believe in the intrinsic value of all human beings and are here to serve all who seek our help.

College and graduate school can stretch you academically, mentally, and emotionally. When stress, burnout, or self-doubt start to pile up, that stretch can feel more like a breaking point. I work with students to navigate anxiety, depression, ADHD, autism, trauma, life transitions, and challenges that can come with disability. I also support people adjusting to new environments, including the shift from rural backgrounds into more urban, academic settings. Together, we’ll look at where you’re feeling stuck or overwhelmed and build practical skills to help you clear those hurdles and reconnect with what matters to you. My approach draws from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Internal Family Systems (IFS). In practice, this means we’ll use a blend of tools to help you understand your thoughts and reactions, make sense of your experiences, and respond in ways that feel more manageable and effective. I will tailor our work to your personal goals, because your idea of accomplishment is what matters to me. If you’re interested, we can also bring in elements of Geek Therapy® (using movies, games, or other examples of popular culture) to make therapy feel more relatable and engaging. If you’ve been dealing with mental fatigue, cognitive overload, or a life-altering diagnosis, you don’t have to figure it out on your own. We can work together to help you feel more balanced, confident, and prepared for your next chapter, whether that’s graduation or the following academic term. Reaching out can be the most difficult step in this process. Let’s start a conversation and design a treatment plan just for you.

Many of my clients are making exciting but often daunting transitions -- either from Jr High to High School, High School to College, or whatever comes next. Change is so often viewed with anxiety and negativity. Yet, change is happening all around us every day. How can we make change a positive experience in our lives? How can we choose to change something that is not working? How can we learn and grow from a challenging experience? As a counselor, I believe my job is to create a space where clients can explore these and other topics, in a way that ultimately positively impacts their day to day lives. I have 10+ years of professional experience working with adolescents and adults in outreach and community based organizations. I have a client centered, strengths-based approach to my work that integrates Positive Psychology and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. I believe that it is critical that the client takes an active role in the counseling process. My clients face a range of life’s challenges: depression, anxiety, peer conflict, communication, transition to college/work, enhancing self-awareness, relationship/family dynamics (separation/divorce), grief, and autism or attention deficit/executive functioning challenges. I work primarily with young adults and their families, adults, parents and couples.

I am licensed to provide therapy for 18+ and adults who are experiencing a variety of issues such as anxiety, depression, stress, self esteem and relationship problems. I have been practicing for over 25 years with experience in mood disorders (depression, anxiety, SAD, panic) and relationship issues. Other areas of interest for me include grief, self esteem issues, issues of college aged & young adults, and the elderly. My approach is warm, accepting and straight forward. I use many treatment modalities, but focus on problem solving collaboratively with my client. I can respond to e-mail quicker than voicemail.

I'm a psychotherapist and licensed psychologist specializing in trauma, body image, anxiety, depression, and relationship concerns. I strive to cultivate a safe and open environment to explore each client’s experience with curiosity and compassion. I support each client’s goals and desire for meaningful change through a collaborative and nonjudgmental approach. With clients, I will strive to work towards genuine growth and self-understanding about the past and present, while strengthening relationships and navigating difficult feelings. I bring my authentic self into each session and will continue to encourage you to be you. I believe the therapeutic relationship can be a vehicle for healing and I invite honest feedback about our work together. I'm attentive to the nuances of identity and committed to integrating a social justice approach. Therapy can be a process of healing and transformation with challenging moments along the way. I'm interested in joining you on this process and working through moments together. Prior to Forward Wellness, I was a staff therapist at CaPS at Carnegie Mellon University.

Melissa's diverse experience had lead her to focus on the importance of contentedness of relationships in fostering personal and spiritual growth in her clients. At the core, Melissa's goal is to help each person find the freedom that comes with pursuing wellness in every area of life. She strives to help people find a place of well being that goes beyond the sense of disease or illness but to a place of thriving state of health and balance.She has worked at various levels of mental health care including outpatient therapy, inpatient hospitalization, and residential treatment since 2005. In residential treatment, she worked with adolescents with behavioral difficulties and mental illness. While working in a psychiatric hospital, Melissa provided individual support and group therapy for adults, adolescents, children and their families who have struggled with disordered eating. She worked with children and their families who have struggle with anxiety and sleep disturbances in a university research setting. Her understanding of the connection between the mind and body was furthered while working in a medical hospital helping children, adolescents, and young adults with gastrointestinal disorders or sleep problems. These experiences have provided advanced knowledge in treating, not only eating disorders and anxiety but depression, sleep problems, trauma, body image disturbance, life transitions, communication difficulties, self esteem, chronic pain and other medical conditions. ​She has advanced training in non-pharmaceutical interventions, CBT for Insomnia and trauma, EMDR, attachment and dissociation. She enjoys working with transition age and early professionals who experience chronic anxiety and/or depression, complex trauma, and adjustment issues. She lived in Southeast Asia for 6 years and loves working with cultural adjustment issues.

Ryan King is a state licensed Social Worker with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and a Master's degree in Social Work from University of Pittsburgh, with a focus on Mental Health. Ryan works with individuals with severe and persistent mental illness including Schizophrenia, Mood Disorders (Depression, Bi-Polar), Anxiety, Personality Disorders, Substance Abuse and Crisis Intervention. In addition, Ryan works with anger, social skills, and stress management as well as crisis management. Ryan is trained in EMDR therapy used for addressing past trauma. Currently accepting clients.