I've been coming here off/on for a decade now and have always received quality mental health care. Each person I've seen has been knowledgeable, compassionate, and more helpful than I ever anticipated. Be aware, there is ALWAYS a long waiting list. If you need mental heath care immediately, find a mental health urgent care facility while you wait on the waiting list. Prices have been extremely reasonable for me, but I also have great insurance. I've been to some other places around town as well and they have all paled in comparison. YMMV. TLDR: If you can wait and have insurance, this place is great for LGBT mental health; if you are in immediate crisis, are looking to start therapy, and don't have insurance, you will probably be upset. read more

This counseling center has gone totally downhill. They had clients being seen and kept running a balance on their accounts because their system was not set up to take payments. Then they gave us about a 4 day notice and then did not allow us to have any links sent to us for the use of the web site for our counseling services. This was total abandonment to me and many of my friends trying to access our therapy. They totally let down our GLBTQ community! We will not seek services from Waterloo ever again. read more

PLEASE NOTE I WOULD GIVE THIS PLACE 1.5 STARS IF I COULD, however, I am giving it two stars just to save the full weigh of a 1 star rating for the worst of the worst. I have long been aware of the existence of the Waterloo Counseling Center and their reputation for working with the GLBT community and members of other subcultures and have always found their mission to be highly laudable. Things also seemed positive when, being uninsured and queer, I qualified for a grant that reduced my payment from I think $115 to $45 per session, though that really is more to the credit of the grant and not to them, themselves. My experience was fairly negative across trying to set up and appointment as well as the two sessions I had, and ultimately in trying to cancel my future appts and complain about my therapist. As far as setting up the appt went, after several attempts, I was never able to reach an actual person by phone to set up an appt and finally had to leave a message on a Thurs stating that I was in emotional distress and would really like to set up and appointment asap. No one returned my call until the following Monday, leaving me very distraught for four days while I waited. Once I had an appointment and got there, a large chunk of the time on the first session was eaten up by filling out forms during the session because I hadn't realized that the forms I had filled out in the waiting room all had stuff on the back that I had to fill out, too. I acknowledge that I could have checked the backs, but I will say that the clipboard held down the forms which discouraged readily turning them over and checking the back. Also, there was nothing on the front pages to indicate that there was something on the back. Losing the first session to this paperwork was especially frustrating because not only did I really need that session, I had had to kill 30 minutes in the waiting room just sitting there due to when my bus dropped me off. Also regarding those forms, though it does not apply to me personally, I was really taken aback that their form asking about prior drug use was entitled "Substance Abuse History". Any educated person on the subject knows that there is a major difference between occasional recreational use and real substance abuse, and not only are they not making that distinction they are forcing their clients with some recreational use history to either brand themselves as "drug abusers" or to lie on their intake form. Getting past having to waste most of the 45 minutes of the first session on just going through the paperwork and basic intro and disclaimer stuff, the real problems came on the second session. Basically, I walked in there in an incredibly good mood and rather than focusing on the positive during the session, I was made to walk out of there feeling extremely badgered and very frustrated, and the fact that I paid $45 for that was total insult to injury. Basically, my therapist, Nina (who I only mention by name to distinguish that other therapists might not be this bad, but I don't think the fact that she has worked there for three years bodes well about their hiring practices) started off the meeting by insisting on filling out a goal sheet. While this might have been fine for someone else in another situation, the problem was that my only problem was that I am disabled and have to cope with a great deal of physical suffering and had just been seeking out someone to talk to about how much physical pain I was in. She wouldn't accept that or let up about how I needed to come up with things I needed to change about myself. My situation is that I am a pretty happy person with a great deal of support from my friends and family. My positive attitude in the face of such illness is frequently commented on, and I take steps to safeguard my own emotional well being such as making a point of going out to events that I know I will enjoy, even when I am in a lot of pain because the emotional pain of isolation can be worse. There really isn't anything about myself to change, I just needed to talk out loud about how rough it was to deal with physical suffering all the time. She would not accept this and badgered and badgered me about it for about 10-15 minutes, and then wanted to psychoanalyze the fact that I felt like we were wasting time on it. Then, as I tried to clarify that I just wanted to talk to someone about how sick I felt, she tried to make something out of that like I didn't have anyone I felt I could talk to even though I had already made it clear that I did and I was trying to give them a break and had hoped for some outside insight from a trained professional. Then, just to wrap up the experience, I couldn't get anyone on the phone to cancel my future appointments. I left two messages explaining that I was unhappy with my therapists behavior and wanted to lodge a complaint and cancel my appointment, but I received no cancelation confirmation or complaint follow up. read more

A Fraud, a hoax and a waste of time! These big scam artists prey on the helpless and hurt the depressed and weak minded out of their money claiming they offer counseling for people with mental illness. Yes they're affordable but they don't provide any services they claim to help with and you get more out of seeing an herbalist, shaman, or spiritual healer. The first meeting was very intrusive, they ask for your medical records to be sent from my PCP, after a 1 hour session just to verify if I qualify for their supposed services and having me fill out the 4 page admission form on paper where I said and documented that I am literate and I understand the name of your office and your organization claims to provide counseling to people with depression. The receptionist tells me "oh by the way you could have filled that out on our website". No worries I, I was person in need and I would try anything I could to get help with my crippling depression that wasn't letting me sleep at night. The first time I saw my "counselor", he asked me why I went to go see them. "What brings you here?" I assume they never read the admission form and since the first day I resented that they were talking to me as if I was just a child at a nursery school. I spelled it out in the simplest English possible for a person just learning to read that I do not wish for help with assisted suicide. I had already documented that in the admissions form and the interview. Fine, I kept my cool and I explained for 45 minutes why I was depressed. The whole time Brian K. just sat there with legs crossed and folded arms blankly shaking his head and saying Okay. I briefly expressed that I wished for my life to end. I explained again like I had with admissions that I know you do not provide help with suicide, and that is not why I came to you but I do not know what else to do. The second session was the same. For 45 minutes I explained how sad I felt and it was affecting to the point where I went to see my doctor who in turn referred me to you. Out of nowhere during the session Brian K. asks me if I have a problem with his sexuality. What?! Why would that ever be an issue with anyone, especially in a professional setting!! I'm coming to him with my problems and it seems he only mirrors his problems onto whoever he pretends to "counsel". The third and final session Brian K. takes me to his supervisor and and she says that they can't help me with what I'm asking. And what is that? She says I kept asking for their facility to help me with ending my life. Sick perverted thieves that should be put in jail for ripping people off! I do not misread the name of your office as "Suicide Assistance Center". But it is definitely not a counseling center. read more

I see multiple negative reviews complaining about the amount of paperwork and the attitude of the therapists. I have found that ALL good therapists will either have several questionnaires, or they will spend the entire first session asking those questions. Additionally, people have complained about a therapist trying to set goals with them, and about a therapist telling them that they aren't alone in their problems. Those are both common therapy practices that work with many people, so it's unsurprising that your therapist tried them! My personal experience has been this: I was referred to Waterloo for a Transmasculine therapy group meeting weekly. It was a bit tricky to get an appointment set - their phone setup is not great, but once I was in the intake appointment (Just me and the group therapist) I was treated like a valued human being. Sarah helped me fill out the paperwork, asking me for clarification if she needed it. I was told I would have to attend a certain number of sessions before I could opt out, and I'm nearly at that number but I don't ever want to leave this group! I will say that the way the group runs is not very structured, it's mostly just a bunch of us sitting around and talking about what we struggled with or what we achieved in the week, but Sarah always offers great insight into why or how we may be experiencing our lives. I have also found that the group members are all wise in their own way, making this a great setting for learning how to take care of your emotional and mental health. 4 stars, lost one because the phone system really sucks. read more

There are no words to describe how wonderful, helpful, supportive, ugh....I can't express how nice it is to have someone to talk to about issues important to me and relatable to my incredible therapist. I've been using this facility and its incredible staff for over three months now. Attentive, thoughtful, and affordable. read more

This was a nightmare. The counselor I was assigned to needed counseling more than I did ! I left every session feeling very very frustrated and I endured 4 before I realized this place was not going to be helpful. One of the problems (and I'll only mention one but I could go on and on ) was that the guy I was assigned to seemed to think that by him telling me all of his problems would make me feel so ' not alone in the world ' lol. this was NOT a good experience at Waterloo . I'm keeping this review short. Keep looking if you are in need. The protocol and the way paper work and time spent in office just to get to see someone is enough to send one into therapy. read more

Very affordable, and fine if you're not looking for long-term therapy (longer than a month or two), as their therapists tend to not stay long. Interns are especially likely to leave once they've completed their training, and they may or may not give you advance notice, and you'll probably have to ask for a referral to a new therapist. If you're in need of long-term therapy, you'll be playing a game of musical therapists at this place; do yourself a favor and go to Violet Crown Counseling (the other LGBT counseling group in Austin) or find a private therapist. You'll pay more, but you also won't have to worry if your next session will be the one where your therapist tells you he or she is leaving the center. read more