Mental Health Counseling

Individual Counseling

Individual counseling (sometimes called psychotherapy, talk therapy, personal counseling, or treatment) is a process of helping a person overcome problems by working one-on-one with a licensed mental health clinician in a safe, caring, and confidential environment.  Counseling helps students who are struggling with issues such as:

• Anxiety  (social, test, and generalized)
• Stress and feeling overwhelmed  
• Difficulty adjusting to college 
• Time management  
• Irritability  
• Depression  
• Grief/loss  
• Self-esteem  
• Identity  
• Interpersonal conflict 

Our brief, individualized, stepped care model of counseling, strives to provide students with ample opportunities to:

• develop greater insight and self-understanding
• identify and solve problems
• reduce emotional distress
• improve cognitive, emotional, academic, and social functioning
• explore and understand cultural and other identities 

 What Can You Expect at Your First Appointment?

1. Please arrive 10–15 minutes before your scheduled appointment to complete intake paperwork.  This information will help your counselor prepare for the session.
2. Your counselor will explain their commitment to confidentiality along with exceptions to confidentiality. 
3. The first meeting will primarily be an information gathering session, so that you and your counselor can decide the best way to assist you with your concerns.
4. You can anticipate being asked to share information about the reason for your visit, history, as well as goals for counseling.
5.  The session will last 30–45 minutes. 
6. Many people experience some initial relief as they begin the process of counseling.  However, it is not uncommon to experience some uncertainty, especially if you are going to counseling for the first time. 
7. During your first appointment, you and your counselor will develop a treatment plan that best meets your unique needs.  Using a Stepped Care Model, your plan may include referrals to appropriate resources that work best to give optimal support.
8. To maximize your time, we ask that your limit the use of phones or other devices during the session.
9. If you are unable to attend your appointment, we ask that you notify us as soon as possible so that we might open that time for another student.
10. If you miss more than two appointments, without calling to cancel or rescheduling, you will need to communicate with the Director of Mental Health Counseling before scheduling an additional appointment.

Group counseling is a form of psychotherapy that involves more than two participants and covers a variety of topics.  People join groups for a variety of reasons (interpersonal concerns and needs; to learn about specific issues and/or their specific cultural identities; referral from individual counselor; curiosity). Groups can range from open groups to closed groups. MHCS will have both open and closed groups. Unless noted as peer-led, most groups will be facilitated by a MHCS Counselor or Graduate intern.

Some of the benefits of participating in group counseling include:

• Understanding that you are not alone in your thoughts and concerns
• Receiving new perspectives of viewing your situation and circumstances
• Becoming clearer in how you interact with others; what do you do well and what would be helpful to change
• Learning new interpersonal skills that will help you to communicate more effectively in your personal relationships
• Being able to offer assistance to others who are dealing with similar concerns

If you would like to participate in group counseling, please email Mental Health Counseling Services at counseling@howardcc.edu.