Therapy for Graduate and Medical Students

Blackburn Clinical Services offers one-on-one therapy in West Los Angeles for graduate and professional students: PhD and master’s students, medical and other health professions students, business school students and anyone in a demanding program after college. Graduate school brings long hours, high stakes, uncertain funding and a small circle of people who decide your future. Anxiety, depression, burnout and drinking to cope are common, and they are treatable. Call (888) 870 7405 or email info@blackburnclinical.com.

At a glance

Who we see: doctoral and master’s students, medical, dental, nursing and other health professions students, business school students, postdoctoral trainees and recent graduates studying for licensing exams. Law students can see therapy for law students and bar exam stress.
What we help with: anxiety, depression, burnout, perfectionism, impostor feelings, sleep problems, attention problems and ADHD testing, relationship strain and substance use.
Where: Therapy takes place in our office at 12326 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066, in Mar Vista near Culver City, Venice and Santa Monica, or by secure video for clients located in California.
Psychiatry: Psychiatric evaluation and medication management are provided by our board certified psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners. When you call, we explain how psychiatry appointments are arranged.
Privacy: one-on-one care. Anything we share with anyone outside your care team happens only with your written permission.
Fees: We are an out-of-network practice and provide superbills. See Fees and Insurance.
First step: call (888) 870 7405 or email info@blackburnclinical.com to schedule an assessment.

What the research shows about graduate and professional students

A survey of 2,279 graduate students, most of them PhD students, found that 41 percent had moderate to severe anxiety and 39 percent had moderate to severe depression on standard screening scales, compared with about 6 percent in the general population figure the authors cited. Students who did not feel they had good work and life balance, and students who did not feel their advisor gave real mentorship, were more likely to report anxiety and depression (Evans and colleagues, Nature Biotechnology, 2018).

Medical training shows a similar pattern. A review that pooled studies of more than 120,000 medical students worldwide estimated that 27.2 percent had depression or depressive symptoms and 11.1 percent had suicidal thoughts. Among students who screened positive for depression, only 15.7 percent sought treatment (Rotenstein and colleagues, JAMA, 2016). The gap between how many students struggle and how many get help is the problem we want to close.

What graduate and professional students often bring to therapy

Advisor and supervisor relationships. When one person controls your funding, your timeline and your letters, conflict feels dangerous to raise. Therapy is a private place to think it through and plan what to say.
Qualifying exams, boards and licensing tests. Test anxiety, all night studying and the fear of failing in front of your cohort. See anxiety treatment.
Stalled research or a dissertation that will not move. Avoidance, procrastination and shame tend to feed each other. Sometimes untreated ADHD or depression is part of it.
Clinical rotations and exposure to illness and death. Health professions students see hard things early, often with little time to process them. See trauma and PTSD treatment.
Money and the long timeline. Stipends, loans and years of delayed earnings while friends move on. Comparison and isolation can follow.
Drinking or stimulant use to keep up. We treat substance use and mental health together through dual diagnosis treatment.
Thinking about leaving the program. Whether to take a leave, switch fields or stay is a big decision, and it helps to make it with a clear head. See clinical evaluation for a leave of absence.

How care works around a graduate schedule

Care starts with an assessment, then one-on-one sessions with a licensed therapist in our office or by secure video for clients located in California. Approaches are chosen for you, for example cognitive behavioral therapy for worry and perfectionism or skills based work for sleep and stress (NIMH explains common psychotherapies). If anxiety, depression or attention problems need medication, our psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners can evaluate you and coordinate with your therapist. For a student who needs more than a weekly session without leaving the program, the Concierge Outpatient Program offers several hours a week of one-on-one care with no groups.

Your program, advisor, employer and family hear nothing from us unless you give written permission. When clinically appropriate, we can provide letters or documentation for a leave or a return, shared only with your written permission.

When the problem is more about structure than mental health, such as getting a dissertation chapter moving week by week, Blackburn Mentoring, a sister organization, offers mentoring for graduate students.

Questions

Is it common for graduate students to struggle with anxiety or depression?

Yes. In one large survey, 41 percent of graduate students had moderate to severe anxiety and 39 percent had moderate to severe depression. A review of medical student studies estimated that 27.2 percent had depression or depressive symptoms. Struggling in graduate school is common and treatable.

Will my program or advisor find out I am in therapy?

Not from us. Anything we share with anyone outside your care team happens only with your written permission.

Can you help me decide whether to take a leave of absence?

Yes. Therapy can help you weigh the decision, and when clinically appropriate, we can provide letters or documentation for a leave or a return. We cannot promise what a program will decide.

Do you test adults for ADHD?

Yes. We offer ADHD and neuropsychological testing for adults. Some adults first seek testing when the demands of a program outgrow the strategies that worked before.

Do you take student health insurance?

We are an out-of-network practice. We do not take or bill insurance, and we provide superbills you can submit for out-of-network reimbursement. See Fees and Insurance.

Get started

Call (888) 870 7405 (Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM), email info@blackburnclinical.com or contact us. Blackburn Clinical Services is at 12326 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066.

If you or someone you love is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or call 911 in an emergency.

Therapy for Graduate and Professional Students in Los Angeles