Rose City Center Information

Our twofold mission is to provide affordable, high quality mental health services to low-to-moderate income clients; and to train pre-doctoral and postdoctoral clinicians to become competent, ethical and community-minded practitioners. Rose City was founded in 2004 by a group of Pasadena-based psychologists who recognized a gap in mental health services for low-income residents. Most clinics in the area had waiting lists, served only Medi-Cal recipients, and offered limited services. In addition, most of the clinics were staffed by first- or second-year graduate students with little clinical experience and minimal supervision. Thus, a large number of low- and moderate-income individuals, couples and families had nowhere to go for high quality, affordable mental health care. Rose City’s founders envisioned a center that would be staffed by experienced pre-doctoral or postdoctoral clinicians receiving excellent ongoing training.The center would be modeled on a private practice, a warm and comfortable place where clients’ dignity, privacy and individual needs would be prioritized. Based on this model, the California Wellness Foundation awarded Rose City a $50,000 seed grant in 2003. Rose City is now a primary outpatient referral site for Huntington Hospital, Las Encinas Hospital, Occidental College, Cal Tech, and others. Rose City is also a primary referral for clinics with waiting lists and for dozens of local physicians, psychologists and MFTs.