What Happens in Counseling?
Of course this depends on the needs of the student, but your counselor will usually begin by asking you to talk about the reasons you have come for counseling. She or he may help you to "tell your story" with a few well-timed questions, but mainly your counselor will try to listen and avoid rushing in with premature advice or solutions. Our main goal is for you to feel both understood and cared for. After assessing the problem together, you and your counselor will try to agree on a plan to begin working on the problem. If further counseling is undertaken, it may involve only a few additional interviews or a longer series.
Although much learning in college occurs in the classroom, there is also a great deal of learning that occurs outside it. In counseling and psychotherapy, the learning is about yourself, who you really are and where you are going with your life, how to manage emotions, or how to resolve or cope with internal or interpersonal conflicts. Counseling and therapy can help renew a sense of active engagement in learning and life.
