In conversation with people around town, many are unaware of the nonprofit The Women’s Center of Southeastern Michigan, which offers individual therapy, support groups, divorce education and financial and career coaching. The Center also has a resource and referral program that connects community members to other services they may qualify for in Washtenaw County and surrounding areas.
“We believe a trusting, respectful and supportive therapeutic relationship is key to change,” Clinical Director Katie Kidle said. “It’s important to us to consider people’s context — the stressors they are under and their cultural, racial and family backgrounds. Mental health symptoms are not necessarily evidence of disease but may be normal adaptations to abnormal circumstances.”
The Women’s Center of Southeastern Michigan, founded in 2000, serves not just women but all people aged 16 and up. Kidle started as a therapist-intern in 2016 while in the Master of Social Work program at the University of Michigan and said she never wanted to leave.
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“The Women’s Center provides a space for connection and education — either through individual therapy, groups or classes — where people can receive services regardless of their ability to pay,” Kidle said.
Free or low-cost services
“We take Medicare, Medicaid and Washtenaw Health Plan in addition to commercial insurances so that people can have access to high-quality services with the insurance they have,” Kidle said.
For instance, The Center offers trauma-informed long-term therapy for a sliding-scale fee based on income.
“We want to make counseling as accessible as possible,” Kidle explains.
“In our “Soundings” counseling program, we rely on master’s and doctoral-level interns to provide therapy under the close supervision of experienced clinicians. This means that clients have the benefit of not one, but two therapists who are aware of and helping with their situation,” Kidle said.”
“Soundings” also includes a single-session “Jumpstart” program for people on their waitlist, to connect people more immediately with services and to determine whether continued therapy is needed.
While the “Soundings” program is for people without insurance or who cannot afford to use their insurance, “Room to Talk” is for people who have commercial or public insurance. “Room to Talk” has about 30 therapists and a separate website.
In addition to their three counseling programs, The Women’s Center also offers free groups that meet on Zoom. “Going Solo” is “for women processing the end of a long-term relationship.” This group is open and ongoing. It meets on Thursdays from 6-7:30pm.
Another free group is “MomShare,” for pregnant women and new moms — and their babies. This group is also open and ongoing and meets on Tuesdays from 1- 2:30pm.
Kidle added that there are also Identity-based groups that run periodically in 8-week cycles: “Black Women’s Empowerment Group” and the “Latinx Support Group” for Spanish-speaking moms.
“All of our groups are available for free or on a sliding scale (lower than most),” Kidle said.
The Women’s Center has its roots in “Soundings: A Center for Women” – a nonprofit that began in 1977. At that time, “Soundings” focused on counseling, divorce support and job coaching for women in the long term.
Those services helped women rebuild their lives — particularly if they were without the safety net of family, friends, or a religious/spiritual community.
“Our programs were initially created to fill the gaps for services for women in transition within our community — counseling, job counseling, divorce support, and financial coaching,” Kindle said. “As time has gone on, those services have expanded, and we welcome folks of all genders to our Center.”
The Women’s Center of Southeastern Michigan. 1100 Victors Way, Suite 10. Hours: Monday through Thursday, 9am-5pm.
