Family Counseling Services of Athens

About Family Counseling Services of Athens

Family Counseling Services of Athens is a community counseling agency in Athens, Georgia, that has provided outpatient therapy to local individuals and families since 1969. They aim to make mental health care reachable for everyone in the area, regardless of ability to pay and without stigma, and they work closely with courts, schools, and other local agencies. Their clinicians help people with substance use as well as grief, trauma, anxiety, depression, and relationship struggles through individual, couples, family, and group therapy, plus play therapy for children ages 4 to 12. They also conduct structured substance use evaluations, either voluntary or court-ordered, along with the clinical evaluations required after a DUI charge.

Therapists draw on a range of approaches, including CBT, ACT, Internal Family Systems, Motivational Interviewing, and narrative therapy, with EMDR and Brainspotting available for trauma. Since 2001, they have provided individual and group therapy for the Athens-Clarke County DUI Court, an 18- to 24-month substance use treatment program for high-risk participants, and they also offer counseling and support groups through the local Veterans Treatment Court. An eight-week anger management group is open to both mandated and voluntary participants. Cost is a major focus, with most insurance and Medicare accepted, a sliding scale for uninsured clients, low-cost sessions with supervised social work interns, and free counseling programs for survivors of assault and domestic violence.