Mission
To provide affordable, accessible, and appropriate mental health services for individuals, families and children in the diverse Pasadena area and surrounding communities who have no other resources for such care.
About Us
The Pasadena Mental Health Center (PMHC) was founded in 1965 by a group of mental health professionals and concerned community members to provide high quality, accessible and affordable mental health services in the diverse Northwest Pasadena area and surrounding communities. PMHC has built a successful track record of offering comprehensive, bilingual/bi-cultural programs serving individuals, couples, children, and families.
Families and individuals in our service area face increasing difficulty in receiving mental health services. PMHC is the only provider of affordable, non-acute mental health services in the Pasadena area for low-income individuals and families who are uninsured and do not qualify for Medi-Cal. Seventy-percent of the families and individuals we service have an average annual income below $19,000 and are uninsured or under insured with limited resources for health care. All consultations and services are provided on a sliding scale fee basis, depending on ability to pay. PMHC provides counseling to more than 1000 clients a year.
PMHC’s Youth Accountability Program, in partnership with the Pasadena Police Department, works with juveniles who have committed a minor first criminal offense. The program provides individual, family and group therapy to the youth and their families, as well as parenting classes. Overall, it has been very successful in keeping youth out of the criminal justice system.
For the past three years, PMHC has partnered with Five Acres’ school based program at Pasadena Unified School district to provide counseling to students who otherwise would not have been eligible for services.
Most recently, PMHC began its United to Nurture Individuals Program (UNI). UNI focuses on vulnerable youth in the Pasadena/Altadena area who are most likely to join a gang. The mission of the program is to help the youth make positive life choices and avoid joining a gang. The program provides mentorship, therapy, and case management to the youth and their families.
On January 1, 2007, PMHC became an affiliate of Five Acres – The Boys’ and Girls’ Aid Society of Los Angeles County (www.5Acres.org). The affiliation was an opportunity for PMHC to receive valuable administrative support while maintaining its mission to provide affordable and accessible mental health services for individuals and families in the diverse Pasadena area. Five Acres is a child and family services agency that strengthens families and prevents child abuse through treatment and education in community-based and residential programs. Both PMHC and Five Acres are strengthened by this relationship as they are able to offer complementary, yet distinct, services to their clients.
