About Counseling Services

Clark University Counseling Services maintains the primary purpose of helping students overcome interpersonal difficulties that develop into obstacles in the attainment of academic and/or personal goals. We view the college years as a critical period of accelerated intellectual and emotional growth, and are here to support students as they negotiate developmental tasks, and cope with intense levels of academic and social pressure.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
Our service is predominantly offered to undergraduate students of the University. However, we do offer appointments to graduate students with the goal of assessing and stabilizing the presenting concern, and then referring to the most appropriate local resources. All groups offered through Counseling Services are offered to both undergraduate and graduate students.

STAFFING
We are staffed by 3 full-time licensed clinicians, and 2 interns. We do not have a psychiatrist associated with our center. Hours of operation are 9am-5pm Monday through Friday when school is in session.

PHILOSOPHY
We acknowledge that Psychotherapy in a college counseling center is uniquely impacted by its setting. Treatment is seen as inherently short term because the length of psychotherapy is limited to the time left until completion of the academic requirements. Additionally, therapy is impacted by interruptions introduced by the academic calendar.  A majority of students who use our services tend to come in for treatment episodes of  5 to 10 sessions.  They then take a break and return for another episode upon feeling stuck or in need of additional support.

SCOPE OF SERVICES
We are able to provide psychotherapy to students who are experiencing problematic reactions to the intense interpersonal and intellectual demands intrinsic to the college experience.
Some examples of students' presenting concerns at Counseling Services include: relationships, motivation, happiness, health, life decisions, sexual identity, substance abuse, depression, eating disorders and body image concerns, trauma, negotiating changing relations/roles with parents, parental divorce, or the loss of a loved one.
The scope of our service is limited to short term psychotherapy, but due to the unique nature of each situation the length of treatment and number of sessions varies. Some students experience needs outside the scope of our services, for example: conditions requiring close coordination with psychiatrists or other providers; conditions with persistent symptoms of risk to personal safety; and conditions requiring access to therapists outside of normal business hours. These students are encouraged to consult with us for an assessment of their symptoms (diagnostic evaluation), and assistance with a referral to community mental health providers.
Counseling Services strives to offer an initial appointment to all callers within 72 hours of contacting us. The first visit will be used to assess whether our counseling center can be of significant assistance to your specific needs, and to develop a plan for treatment or referral.