PAU Opens New Campus in Mountain View

  Starting November 10th, Palo Alto University’s (PAU) Mountain View campus will be the new home to the University’s premier teaching and training clinic, The Gronowski Center, which has provided counseling and therapy services to the region since 1988, as well as PAU’s eClinic.    As part of PAU’s commitment to the mental health and well-being of our local community, The Gronowski Center offers sliding-scale mental health services provided by supervised doctoral students to adults, adolescents, older adults, couples, and families in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. The Center also offers two specialty clinics (La Clínica Latina and the Sexual and Gender Identities Clinic) that address the specific needs of Latinx and LGBTQ+ communities.   “For nearly 50 years, PAU has served the mental health needs of the Bay Area and beyond as a leader in education, research, training, and clinical practice in the fields of psychology and counseling. We are thrilled to expand our reach and serve the diverse needs of the Mountain View community,” says PAU President, Maureen O’Connor. “I am proud of the high-quality mental health care our faculty and students provide at the Gronowski Center and eClinic.”    The grand opening event on November 10th will feature a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by community leaders and a keynote address by Joseph Farrow, President of the Board of Directors, California branch of the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI). Attendees will also have the opportunity to tour the newly renovated facility, which offers classrooms and offices for faculty and staff, as well as space for community events and workshops.    “After almost three years of operating remotely, offering in-person services again will be an exciting prospect for people seeking services in the community,” says Gronowski Clinic Director, Sandra Macias. “I’m excited for the students to see their clients in person and learn how to work in this modality. We also have a wonderful group of supervisors who respect each other and rely on each other for support and consultation. Having some opportunity for in-person connection is important.”   Lastly, the new location of the clinic is in a more central neighborhood in downtown Mountain View, while the previous location was in a professional business property. Macias hopes that the new location will create a space for clients and students that is more approachable and inviting.   “Our presence in this Mountain View neighborhood will hopefully garner curiosity from the community and eventually be seen as a place where people can come to receive affordable mental health services,” says Macias. “We provide important, vital, mental health services to the community, while providing students the opportunity to develop into competent and compassionate clinicians. That’s our focus, and that’s what we do so well at our clinic.”