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> Winona State University > Student Life > WSU Counseling Center > WSU Counseling Center
INFORMATION ABOUT WSU COUNSELING CENTER
The Winona State University Counseling Center provides confidential short-term, professional services to assist students in defining and accomplishing their personal, academic, and career objectives. Counselors assist students in resolving issues that may be interfering with their ability to succeed at the University. Counseling Center staff members are committed to helping students learn new skills and incorporate principles of wellness into their lives, thus navigating students toward personal and academic success. As such, the Counseling Center is committed to providing psychoeducational and proactive services whenever possible. Similarly, the Counseling Center is committed to the wellness of the WSU community, and offers consultation and outreach services to faculty, staff, and students.
Commitment to Nondiscrimination The Counseling Center is committed to providing services that do not discriminate based on stereotypes of behavior, values or roles related to age, gender, religion, race, ability, nationality or sexual orientation. Each student will be treated as a unique individual.
Who may use the WSU Counseling Center? Services are available to all currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students. The Counseling Center does not provide counseling service to faculty, staff, or non-students. Faculty and staff are invited to consult with counselors on issues related to students.
What services are provided for students? Individual Personal Counseling: College is a time of new challenges and significant change. At times this change is manageable and understandable, and at other times, it can feel overwhelming. The staff at the WSU Counseling Center welcomes students to the Center with the knowledge that counseling can help with the adjustment and personal growth necessary to cope with competing demands of school, work, friends and family. Individual personal counseling is offered for a variety of concerns, such as depression, anxiety, adjustment to college, stress management, self-esteem, relationship issues, grief or loss, sexual assault, etc. Personal counseling is offered to students on a short-term basis. We do not offer long-term therapy. If it is in the student’s best interest to see someone for long-term counseling, a referral will be made to the appropriate resource in the community. Career Counseling: If you need help choosing a major or are thinking of changing your major, the Counseling Center can help! Students can access DISCOVER, an internet-based career development program, that can match students’ interests, values, and abilities to various careers. Student can also obtain a wealth of information about various majors and careers through this program. A second option for students is to take the Strong Interest Inventory, a test that helps match one’s pattern of interests to diverse occupational options. Counselors interpret inventory results, help students sort through various options, and refer them to other career resources. The Counseling Center maintains a career research library. Crisis Intervention: The Counseling Center offers walk-in counseling services during our regular office hours for students who feel they need immediate assistance. Students can access the crisis/walk-in services by coming directly to the Counseling Center or by calling 507-457-5330 indicating that they need to be seen by a counselor on that day if possible. Every effort will be made to see you as soon as possible. Consultation: Counselors can serve as educational resources for students’ research in preparing speeches, news articles, papers, etc. Additionally, students will often come to the Counseling Center when they are worried about a friend or a roommate. Sometimes, talking to a counselor can help provide you with guidance when you are concerned about someone else. Resource Room: The Counseling Center maintains a resource room that offers books on careers, as well as books on a variety of self-help issues. Many of these books can be checked out. The Resource Room is generally available during regular Counseling Center hours.
No. Short-term counseling services are free for currently enrolled WSU undergraduate and graduate students.
Where is the Counseling Center and when is it open? The Counseling Center is located at 132 Gildemeister Hall. It is open between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday – Friday. The Counseling Center follows the academic calendar. In other words, when you have off from school, the Counseling Center is generally closed (e.g., Winter Break, Spring Break, Summer Break). Regular services are scheduled ahead of time.
How do students make an appointment? Students should stop in the Counseling Center between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. where they will be asked to fill out some paperwork, including their schedule of available times (takes approximately 15 minutes). Students will then be scheduled for an appointment and given a completed appointment slip. For questions or concerns, please contact the Office Manager at 457-5330.
What if I need to see a counselor sooner? Generally, appointments are scheduled ahead of time. However, if you feel you cannot wait or are in crisis, let someone at the Counseling Center know and we will make every effort to see you that same day. For more information about crises, click here: Emergency/Crisis Information.
What can I expect from my initial visit to the Counseling Center? The initial appointment lasts approximately 45-50 minutes. The goal of the initial appointment is for you and the counselor to arrive at an understanding of your concerns and the kind of assistance you need. You may be asked about past influences, including your family life, and your history of personal concerns or medical difficulties. Depending on your situation, a number of directions are possible: - the initial discussion may have helped you to resolve your concerns sufficiently; - you may be referred to another office at WSU that can better help you with your situation; - you may be referred off campus to a therapist or service that is better able to help with your situation. Often referrals are made when your concerns are sufficiently complex to make a satisfactory resolution unlikely within the limitations of short-term counseling. In the event of a referral, we will try to take into account your resources, health insurance, and your personal needs in order to help you locate a professional who can serve you appropriately; - you may be assigned to a counselor here who will begin working with you. If you meet with a counselor within the Center, the general guideline is 5-sessions per semester. Sessions beyond this will be at the discretion of each counselor. Following the initial visit, the Counseling Center reserves the right to determine if we have adequate resources and expertise to address the needs of the student who is requesting services. If a student's needs cannot adequately and ethically be met by the Center’s current resources, staff will work with that student to secure an appropriate referral.
The Counseling Center is ethically and legally committed to maintaining confidentiality regarding the information exchanged during the counseling process. No information will be released without the student’s written permission, except in the following circumstances: risk of imminent harm to self or others, a court order, the report of abuse of children or vulnerable adults, or an at-risk pregnancy due to chemical abuse. The records maintained by the counseling staff are not part of a student’s academic record.
Can I communicate with my counselor by e-mail? Electronic mail (e-mail) communications by clients are discouraged, especially for matters involving personal or clinical concerns. Students should be aware that confidentiality of message transmission by e-mail cannot be guaranteed. Counselors and staff may not always be capable of receiving electronic mail, nor do they regularly monitor e-mail. E-mail may be used in scheduling appointments with the permission of the student.
Our demand for services is so great that we oftentimes have a waiting list. Please consider those students waiting for services when you think about not showing up for an appointment. · If you must miss a session due to illness (please stay home if you are sick!) or an emergency, please call the Counseling Center at 457-5330 to cancel the appointment as far in advance as possible. This will allow another student the opportunity to see a counselor. You may leave a message at the above number as well if the office is closed or the Office Manager is unavailable. More than one cancellation during the course of the semester may result in following cancellations counting toward the 5-session limit for the semester. · If you “no show” for an initial session without calling in advance, you must call the Counseling Center to reschedule within 48 hours or you may be placed at the end of the waiting list. · Any “no-shows” will be counted toward your 5-session limit for the semester. Since we often have a waiting list for ongoing counseling, we make the assumption that a student who fails to keep two consecutive appointments without notifying our office is no longer interested in receiving services at that time. If you arrive more than 15 minutes late for an appointment, you may need to reschedule. More than one late arrival during a semester will result in following late arrivals counting toward your 5-session limit for the semester.Last Modified: Friday, January 25, 2008 14:19 by Deborah Dickenson |