All-female psychology group offers mental health services in Indiana Township

A pair of female licensed psychologists is settling into their first year in Indiana Township after relocating their therapy practice.

The Psychology Loft is owned by Chelsea Williams of Indiana Township and Corrine Fallon of Murrysville and occupies the top floor in a 100-year-old building that was formerly Dorseyville Public School.

Friends for five years, the two psychologists met at Duquesne University, where they earned doctorate degrees in psychology.

Fallon started the business in 2020 and a previous Monroeville location is being phased out to accommodate the loft space in Indiana Township that opened in April 2024.

Two more female interns will join the practice this August.

“It’s a female-dominated industry, for the most part, with psychology in general,” Williams said.

Having an all-female staff appears to be a successful business model, they said.

“Some of us have children and we’re a very family-centered business. So naturally, that is important to us since we are all female,” Fallon said.

The Psychology Loft practice focuses on the assessment and treatment of children, adolescents and adults experiencing mental health and/or behavioral issues.

Fallon works as a therapist and Williams handles all of the evaluations.

“Parents need to know that they’re not alone, bringing their children in for both evaluations and therapy,” Fallon said. “We are happy to be busy and we’re meeting people sometime at their lowest point.”

While both women, now in their 30s, didn’t grow up with cell phones and social media, many of their clients are immersed in the digital world.

“The female teen population we see a lot of anxiety, mood disorders, depression, eating disorders and I do attribute a lot of that to social media,” Fallon said. “It’s important to them and we have to be sensitive to the fact that this is a central component. This is how they socialize.”

Joyce Hanz | TRIBLIVE

The Psychology Loft co-owners and licensed psychologists Corrine Fallon and Chelsea Williams photographed on May 12 in Indiana Township.

The practice welcomes all ages and the most seen mental health-related issue is trauma.

“Sexual or physical abuse, neglect and household dysfunctions such as having an incarcerated parent, exposure to domestic violence and divorce are an adverse childhood experience,” Williams said. “We definitely see a lot of people that have those types of experiences and they never deal with them — and it really takes a toll.”

The all-female team is rounded out by licensed professional counselor Mariah Murphy, office manager Natalie Fedunok and pre-doctoral psychology intern Elizabeth Gray.

Psychology Loft offers individual psychological or neuropsychological evaluations and additional evaluations to include fitness-for-duty, psychoeducational, forensic and court-ordered psychological evaluations.

Therapy offerings include individual talk, family reunification, group, divorce counseling, family and co-parenting therapies.

According to data from the Center for Disease Control, anxiety problems, depression and behavior disorders are the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders in children, based on 2022 data from the Centers for Disease Control.

Of those diagnoses, 10% of children ages 3-17 had diagnosed anxiety and among kids ages 12-17, 21% reported symptoms of anxiety.

In 2023, U.S. high school students in 2023 persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary and Trends Report.

Fallon received her doctorate in school psychology from Duquesne University.

Her pre-doctoral internship focused on neurodevelopment disorders, including the autism spectrum, mood, anxiety, trauma and conduct disorders.

Williams grew up in Springdale and also earned a doctorate degree in educational and child psychology from Duquesne University and brings more than a decade of psychology expertise.

Williams previously worked in public and private schools, hospitals, juvenile and correctional facilities and served on legal teams.

She stressed the importance of not self-diagnosing from random social media posts.

“People will read something on social media about a certain diagnosis — we see a lot with autism, ADHD and personality disorders — and they think they have it because they connect with whatever post. Some information may be accurate, but a lot of times it’s not,” Williams said.

Williams evaluates clients during three sessions.

“Having an evaluation is just about knowing yourself better. The report after an evaluation is yours; it doesn’t have to go anywhere or nobody has to know about it. It’s just information that can help you understand yourself better,” Williams said. “At the end of the day, that’s the goal — to live better and live the most functional life.”