Learning Disability and ADHD Assessment
What's New at the Counseling Center
Counseling Center
Counseling Services
The following topics are covered on this page. Use the links below to find the topic you are interested in.
- How do I get in to see a counselor?
- Confidentiality
- Group counseling
- Individual counseling
- Couples counseling
- Crisis services
- Specialty services
- Fees
- Session limits
How do I get in to see a counselor?
Either call us at 453-5371 or stop by our offices in the Student Health Center, Room 253, during regular business hours (Mon-Thurs. 8-5 & Fri. 8-4:30). At that point, the receptionist will have you speak with our Counselor on Duty. The Counselor on Duty will discuss your needs with you and make a determination about how best to serve you. If you are in crisis, you will be seen very quickly.
If you are not in crisis, you will schedule a paperwork appointment. The paperwork takes about an hour to complete. You will be asked to provide demographic information, your schedule, and answer questions that tell us how you are functioning in various areas of your life. After you complete the paperwork, you will be scheduled for an intake appointment. In this appointment you will meet with a counselor who will go over your concerns in detail. Once the intake interview is complete, the intake counselor writes up a short report based on what you discussed. After that, a counselor is assigned to you to provide the service that will best meet your needs. This process usually takes a week or so to be completed, but this depends on your schedule and your availability. The cost for this service is minimal; a paperwork appointment is free and the intake appointment is $6.00. You may pay this fee in cash or charge the fee to your bursar bill.
Confidentiality
Any information, oral or written, given to a counselor will be kept confidential, including the fact that you are receiving services. No one, inside or outside the university, will be told that you are a client here. This is required by the law of the State of Illinois and the ethical code of our profession. No information can be given to anyone unless authorized by you in a written statement, with these exceptions:
- your counselor may seek consultation or supervision with members of our staff;
- individuals on our staff may use client files in research. Any report of research results would not include information by which an individual client might be identified;
- a court may attempt to subpoena your records and/or the testimony of your counselor. While laws provide a great deal of protection, we cannot guarantee that records will not be released under these circumstances;
- if you are dangerous to yourself or others;
- if current child or elder abuse is suspected.
Client records are retained in this agency for seven years. After that, records are shredded, although a logbook which contains basic information (names, dates) is maintained. Your records here are completely separate from any other SIU records.
Group Counseling
Our therapy groups typically include six to eight people who meet with counselors on a weekly basis to talk about their concerns. The content of group sessions is confidential; what members talk about is not discussed outside the group.
Group therapy is highly effective and offers special advantages. When people join a group and interact with other members, they usually repeat the difficulties that brought them to counseling in the first place. With the help of counselors, the group is able to give support and offer alternative ways of doing things. Group members find they are able to resolve difficulties, learn new behaviors, and develop new social skills or ways of relating to people. Also, group members quickly see that they are not alone in their struggles. In the climate of trust provided by the group, people feel free to care about and learn from each other.
Often, people who are thinking about group counseling worry about what they should say. Group members are encouraged to talk about what brought them to the Counseling Center in the first place. It is a myth that you will be forced to tell your most deep and personal thoughts. The most helpful things to talk about will be those things that relate directly to your present difficulty. How much you talk about yourself depends upon what you are comfortable with.
If you have further questions about our group therapy program, please contact the Counseling Center and we will be glad to help you. The following are brief descriptions of the groups currently offered at the Counseling Center and how you can join a group.
Individual Counseling
Many students make use of individual counseling where they can discuss personal issues in a private setting that assures them confidentiality. Individual counseling provides an opportunity for students to discuss personal and relationship concerns with a caring professional who can help them resolve issues and identify constructive ways to cope. Generally individual counseling sessions are 50 minutes, where a student meets one-on-one with a counselor. Students may attend a single session, but most return for several sessions with the same counselor. Counseling services are confidential [link to confidentiality statement], and students are assured they will have privacy. No one can be notified that a student is receiving counseling without the student's written permission. The per-session fee for session 1 - 15 is $6.00; sessions 16 - 25 are charged a fee of $10.00 per session; sessions 26 and above are charged a fee of $20.00 per session. You may pay cash for each session or charge the fee to your bursar bill.
Couples Counseling
In addition to individual and group counseling, the SIU Counseling Center provides couples counseling. If at least one of you is currently an SIU student, you are eligible for this service. Non-student partners are not eligible for individual or group counseling.
Couples counseling can improve your communications skills, help you resolve conflict, and help you feel emotionally connected again. With the help of a counselor, you and your partner have a safe environment in which to talk about issues that are currently troubling you.
You don't need to be married in order to receive couples counseling. The SIU Counseling Center does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. You and your same-sex partner are welcome to use our couples counseling services. The fee for session 1 - 15 is $6.00; sessions 16 - 25 is $10.00 per session; sessions 26 and above are charged a fee of $20.00 per session. You may pay cash for each session or charge the fee to your bursar bill.
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Crisis Services
Student life can be stressful, and many students are dealing with multiple problems. We want to make sure help is available to you 24 hours a day.
When the Counseling Center is open
When the Counseling Center is open, we have a Counselor on Duty to take calls and meet with students who are in crisis. If you'd like to see this counselor, call us at 453-5371 and say you'd like to see the Counselor on Duty. We can arrange an appointment for that day. If you can't wait for an appointment, just come directly to the Counseling Center, and we will have someone see you very soon. Even when we are at our busiest, the Counselor on Duty is always available. There is no charge to see the Counselor on Duty if you are not a current client of the Counseling Center.
We work closely with the campus psychiatrist at the Student Health Service. If you believe that you may need medication, we can speed up the referral process by seeing you here and then referring you to the psychiatrist.
When the Counseling Center is closed
On evening, weekends, and university holidays, a variety of kinds of help is available.
If you are suicidal and need immediate help, go to the emergency room at Carbondale Memorial Hospital located at 305 W. Jackson Street. Crisis counselors from the local community mental health center come to the emergency room to see you. They will let us know what has happened the next day so that we can follow up with services as needed.
If you have another kind of emergency (for example, someone has threatened immediate harm to him/herself), call SIU campus police at 453-2381. Campus police can send out an ambulance, a city police car, or the county sheriff, depending on the location of the person in crisis.
If you are not feeling strong suicidal urges, but you need someone to talk to when we are not open, two numbers to call are:
The National Hopeline Network 1-800-784-2433
Girls and Boys Town Hotline 1-800-448-3000 (this line takes calls from adults as well as children)
If you use one of these numbers, please give us a call as soon as we are open so that we can provide more direct help.
Specialty Services
Dialectical Behavior Therapy program
Eating Disorder Outpatient program
Mandated Suicide Assessment Policy
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Program
The DBT program is designed for students who feel dissatisfied with their personal lives. Students who benefit from the DBT program answer YES to several of the following questions:
- EMOTIONS -
Do you feel overwhelmed by your emotions?
Do you feel your emotions are in control of your life rather than you controlling your emotions? - RELATIONSHIPS -
Do you find yourself having chaotic, up and down, friendships or dating relationships?
Do you feel misunderstood or taken advantage of by others? - COPING -
Do you frequently feel other people can manage life better than you?
Do you engage in self-destructive behaviors such as cutting, an eating disorder, use drugs/alcohol in a way that interferes with school or relationships, have suicidal thoughts/plans, etc? - IDENTITY -
Do you feel lost, unsure of who you are or what you want? - DISTRESS -
Does life frequently feel overwhelming or distressing?
Are you feeling helpless or hopeless?
Students who participate in the DBT Program receive both individual counseling and attend a weekly skills group that teaches members alternative coping skills so they can learn to effectively manage their lives and be more satisfied with life.
Eating Disorder Outpatient Program (EDOP)
The EDOP is designed to provide comprehensive care to students who have food concerns, body image dissatisfaction, or an eating disorder. Counselors, physicians, and nutritionists work together to provide students with the support and resources they need to meet their individual goals. Students can participate in individual counseling, the Loving the Body You're In group, nutritional assessment and counseling, and medical assessment and treatment. A meeting with one of the Counseling Center counselors can help you decide which services would be most useful in meeting your individual goals.
Mandated Suicide Assessment Policy
Following the example of highly successful programs at other universities, SIU has instituted a mandated assessment policy for students who attempt or threaten suicide. If the Counseling Center receives a credible report of a suicide attempt or threat by a student, we will require that student to come in for three appointments of assessment. He or she will meet with one of our counselors, and the counselor will try to help the student understand what led to the event, what they might have done differently, and how they can handle future situations more safely and effectively. This policy is not intended as a punishment for suicidal students; instead, we hope to assist them in dealing with the stresses of their lives and with their own emotions. We also want you to understand that just talking with one of our counselors about suicidal thoughts will not make you subject to this policy; it is intended for students who have actually threatened or attempted suicide. We are concerned about the safety of all of our students, and we are also concerned about the welfare of the university community as a whole.
We charge a small fee for our services. For intake through the 15th session, each session costs $6.00. Clients who received long term individual or couples services will pay $10.00 for sessions after the 15th session and $20.00 for sessions after the 25th session. Groups sessions cost $6.00. regardless of the number of sessions used. Fees may be paid in cash or billed to your bursar account. If you cannot afford these fees, let your counselor know, and he or she can request a lowered fee for you.
The Counseling Center is designated as the primary mental health agency for assisting SIUC students who are experiencing some form of psychological or emotional distress. In order to make sure all students have access to timely services, the Counseling Center has established session limits.
SIUC students will be eligible for up to 15 sessions per year of individual or couples psychotherapy when they seek ongoing counseling services. SIUC students will have a life-time maximum of 75 sessions of individual and/or couples counseling. Therefore, it is important that students work collaboratively with their therapist in determining how best to use their sessions.
Clients are encouraged to talk to their therapists concerning how many sessions they have currently used and also how many sessions they have accumulated in any prior therapy at the Counseling Center.
Please note that Intakes, LD/ADHD Assessment, and Group Counseling sessions are not part of your life-time maximum limit of 75 sessions. The 75 session limit pertains only to individual and couples counseling.
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