Troy Psychological Services PLLC

Counseling & Assessment for Children, Families, and Adults

Our Services

Individual and Family Psychotherapy
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At Troy Psychological Services, we have six licensed clinicians: Kyle Bellinger, PhD LPC, Lori Dunn LSW, Diana Holton LSW, Mandy Phillips PhD LPC, Tabatha Gardner LSW, and Sarah Gates PsyD. Every client we work with is unique, and in order to individualize treatment, we are skilled in integrating a variety of techniques and strategies such as: cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness, family systems, play therapy, activity therapy, and family therapy techniques. When children are the primary focus of treatment, we always include caregivers in the therapy process and often make parenting strategies, parent communication styles, and discipline techniques main components of therapy.
Psychological Evaluations
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Consultation
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Dr. Gates is trained in early-childhood mental health consultation and can provide consultation to preschools, elementary school, and childcare centers on a range of behavioral and social-emotional topics such as: helping children follow rules, teaching empathy, building peer relationships, managing explosive behaviors, understanding hyperactive/inattentive behaviors, identifying learning difficulties, noticing mental health “red flags”, and building a positive learning environment.
Training and Workshops
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Dr. Gates has extensive experience designing and giving trainings and workshops to therapists, physicians, teachers, and parents. Past topics include: tantrum and explosive behaviors, social and emotional childhood development, treatment for sexually offending behaviors in youth, parenting skills, childhood anxiety, autism, and building relationships between teachers and parents. She is available to provide trainings to schools, groups, or organizations on these or other mental health-related topics.

About Dr. Sarah Gates

I am a clinical psychologist with over 25 years of experience working with children, adults, and families with various emotional and behavioral health concerns including:

- anxiety
- depression
- behavior management
- attention difficulties
- executive functioning difficulties
- social relationship problems
- emotional dysregulation
- family discord

I hold a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Psychology from Skidmore College, a Masters of Arts degree in Clinical Psychology from University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and a Master of Science and Doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University. I am licensed as a Psychologist in Pennsylvania.

I received supervised psychotherapy and psychological assessment training at University of Colorado Counseling Center, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center Neuropsychology Department, YOU, Inc. (Worcester, MA), and Community Healthlink (Worcester, MA). I completed my post-doctoral internship at the Together for Kids program at Community Healthlink where I received supervised experience providing psychotherapy to young children and mental health consultation to preschools and childcare sites throughout Worcester County, MA.

Prior to moving to Pennsylvania with my family, I worked in a group private practice where I provided psychotherapy and psychological evaluations to youth and adults in Eastern Massachusetts.

In addition to direct clinical expertise, I have extensive experience giving trainings/workshops and teaching college and graduate courses on topics such as childhood mental health, social and emotional development, parenting skills, childhood anxiety, autism, psychological research and statistics.

Common Questions

What does psychotherapy “look like”?

During the initial interview, we will sit in my office and I will ask many questions about what is concerning you, what you wish could change in your life, and what you hope out of therapy. Although I am always learning about a new person well beyond our first meeting, during the first session, we will work together to identify initial goals and steps toward those goals. Depending on the goals and problem areas, future sessions will entail specific activities that aim to meet those goals.

Is what we talk about in psychotherapy actually confidential?

Almost always, yes. In most circumstances, I keep all of your information confidential. Psychologists and other therapists hold the nature of confidential treatment very seriously. We want people to trust us, the process, and the environment because it is difficult to help people make meaningful changes in their lives if they are hesitant about being truthful to us. Not only must I hold your information confidentially, but my administrative assistant, Jan, has gone through training and must always maintain confidentiality with all client information.

There are, however, very specific times we may break our confidentiality agreement without your permission. Most of these instances are when you or someone else may be in danger. We will discuss these and other instances in detail during our initial interview and we will proceed with treatment only once you understand these limits to confidentiality.

Will I cry in therapy? Will it be hard?

Psychotherapy is designed to help people work out problems that they may have been struggling with for some time. The problems may even stem from relationships or experiences that were very distressing or traumatic. In order to have a more fulfilling life and to reach your goals, you may talk about difficult experiences or feel very deep feelings during a session. So, yes, you may cry. You may feel sad or you may feel tired after a psychotherapy session. This is all normal and, often, it is useful in the process. Part of my job is to monitor the session time and aim to help you regain your composure and sense of stability before you leave my office. It is also likely for both children and adult clients to very much enjoy therapy and to look forward to sessions where you feel understood, perhaps for the first time in your life.

Do you work with all types of people and problems?

If there is a specific mental health issue that we are not competent in, we will not accept you as a client and will give you information about other providers who may be available. However, we are aware that our community in Bradford County does not have many other psychotherapists available, so we will consider working with you on an unfamiliar issue if: 1.) you are not able to find a more experienced clinician and 2.) we are able to get adequate training and/or supervision in the area of concern. When you contact our office, we can discuss this further.

If I start therapy, will I end up needing therapy for years and years?

Most likely, no. Our approach to therapy is solution-focused and usually is quite short-term. Every person or family is different, but it is quite common to have weekly therapy sessions for a few months and then need only occasional sessions to check in, get fresh ideas, or to discuss new issues. Some people benefit from having regular weekly or bi-weekly sessions for quite a long time (years), and it will not be discouraged if it is useful, but it is not expected or always necessary for reaching lasting goals and changes.

Do you provide group therapy?

Do you provide psychotherapy sessions via “telehealth”?

Yes, we provide telehealth psychotherapy sessions for individuals living in Pennsylvania or Massachusetts (where Dr. Gates hold active psychology licenses). “Telehealth” is way of getting therapy sessions through the computer where we can see and hear each other. We use www.doxy.me as our secure video-conferencing program and do require that clients have a solid internet service and private space in their homes or workplace during our sessions. Our fees are the same as in-person psychotherapy. Please contact us to discuss if you are interested in telehealth psychotherapy sessions.

Do you accept health insurance?

We currently accept some insurance plans, but not all plans cover our services. You are responsible for communicating with your insurance company to verify your benefits. If your insurance plan does not cover our services, we will work with you to make sure that our fees do not interfere with you receiving the care you need. In addition, we will give you the paperwork you will need to file your own out-of-network claims with your health insurance. We will walk you through the process to help you recoup some of the cost of psychotherapy sessions.

Do you have a sliding scale for your rates?

What if I can’t make it to a scheduled therapy session?

How do I start therapy with you?

When are you open?

Where is your office?