Counseling Services

Counseling Services

Leaves arranged into a heart on Berea College's campus

The goal of Berea College Counseling Services is to meet the personal and developmental needs of individual students. We provide a safe, confidential, and welcoming environment for all persons that seek our services. We are committed to the promotion and celebration of diversity. Our services are available to all currently enrolled Berea students and their partners.

Mission

The mission of Berea College Counseling Services is to provide a professional and confidential setting for the psychological, emotional, and developmental support of a diverse body of students as they pursue academic goals and explore personal growth. Counseling Services play an essential role in serving Berea College students through individual and group counseling, referrals to campus and community resources, and programming to support and enhance healing, growth, and development. Counseling Services helps faculty and staff by providing consultation regarding concerns about a particular student and training and outreach on common mental health issues that can impact a student's performance.

Confidentiality

All professional counseling services are completely confidential. No one, including parents, relatives, friends, or college staff, has access to any information about a student without their consent. The only exceptions are suspected child abuse, threats to harm self or others, emergency hospitalization, or civil lawsuits when one's mental state is an issue in the case.

Services Offered

Individual counseling is an opportunity to talk with a counselor about anything you choose and work on issues the two of you have defined. Sessions generally last about 50 minutes.

Here are a few examples of the types of help available:

Treatment for anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues
Stress management and relaxation training
Couples therapy (one partner must be currently enrolled)
Family of origin issues
LGBTQIA+ affirmative therapy
Treatment for trauma experiences (current and/or past abuse; trauma-related events)
Skills Training to address executive functioning (difficulty filtering distractions, prioritizing tasks, keeping items and information organized, and memory impacting academic performance).

Referrals

You may encounter distressed students needing additional assistance coping with the pressures and challenges they are facing. You may play a crucial role in identifying and referring these distressed students. Following are some frequently asked questions about emotional distress.

If the situation is an emergency and you feel that the student is going to hurt themselves or someone else you need to:

Call Public Safety (985-3333) and let them know there is an individual who is going to hurt themselves or someone else
After Public Safety is contacted, call Counseling Services (985-3212)

If the student is not in imminent danger of physically harming themselves or others then you should:

Call Counseling Services stating, “This is an emergency and the student needs an appointment right away.” OR walk the student to Counseling Services to make sure he or she is seen right away.

If the College Counseling Center is closed and you have an emergency, contact Public Safety (985-3333) and the Student Life team member on duty. They will make sure the student is safe and contact one of the counselors.

Infrequent class attendance
Repeated requests for deadline extensions and/or serious grade problems
Dependency (e.g., wants others to take care of him/her)
Fatigue, lack of energy
Abrupt changes in behavior or appearance
Bizarre/inappropriate behavior and/or garbled disjointed thoughts
Know or suspect alcohol/drug abuse
Increased irritability
Highly disruptive behavior (e.g., aggression toward other people, violent outbursts, disruptions of class or work)
Suicidal thought (e.g. referring to suicide as a current option or indirect reference to suicide or death)
Normal emotions displayed for a prolonged period of time to an extreme degree
Uncertainty and anxiety about emotional stability, family situation and/or relationship problems

Talk to the student in private
Listen to thoughts and feelings, allowing the student to talk
Avoid criticizing, judging, and/or giving advice
Explore options instead of trying to “fix it” for the student
Emphasize that seeking help is a sign of health and maturity, not weakness
Contact counseling services for consultation if the student resists help and you are concerned about what to do
Encourage the student to contact the counseling center to make an appointment or ask the student to call to make an appointment at the Counseling Center while he or she is in your office

We understand that you will be interested in the problems of the student you have referred, but we are bound by the principles of confidentiality as defined by the Code of Ethics & Standards of the American Counseling Association.

Say whether a student is being seen or has kept an appointment
Discuss the content of sessions
Discuss treatment plans or progress

Students may decide it is in their best interest to have the counseling center share information with faculty, staff, family, or significant others. This can be done after the student signs written consent and understands the purpose and content of any disclosure. The exception is when we determine that imminent danger exists to the student or others. In this case, we will inform the appropriate individuals.

Answer questions concerning steps to take in assisting students in coming to counseling services
Offer information about psychological concerns or problems in general

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