Personal Counseling Services
Accessing Services
Location and Hours
The Counseling Center is located at 212 Ceres Hall. Hours are M-F 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. during the school year, and M-F 7:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. during summer and school breaks.
Individual and Group Counseling
Counseling, or psychotherapy, is a professional relationship that focuses on personal problems. The counseling relationship differs from both social friendships and patient-physician contacts. Unlike friends, counselors are able to be objective; they are not involved in your daily lives. Unlike most physicians, counselors do not give specific advice or tell you what to do. Instead, they serve as skilled listeners who help you to clarify issues, discover your true wishes and feelings, and deal effectively with problems.
Some examples of challenges for which students seek counseling include:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Interpersonal/relationship issues
- Low self-esteem
- Identity concerns
- Crisis needs
- Eating disorders
- Chemical abuse concerns
- Abuse and violence issues
In addition to individual sessions, we often offer group counseling and support groups with a focus on specific issues.
Meeting with a counselor at the NDSU Counseling Center is free for NDSU Students. If your concerns may be more appropriately addressed by another agency, the proper referral(s) will be made.
Psychiatric Services
Psychiatric Services are provided at Student Health Services (Wallman Wellness Center), and referrals can be made either by Counseling Center or Student Health staff. Psychiatric services include evaluation, medication consultation and follow-up visits.
Phototherapy (for SAD)
A limited number of therapeutic light boxes are available for current clients of the Center who are experiencing symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The light boxes may be checked out from the Center for clients' personal use. Clients at the Center may speak to their counselor to discuss whether this option may be appropriate for them in conjunction with counseling.
Assessment Services
In conjunction with the counseling process, various types of tests and inventories may be administered, including instruments measuring interests or personality factors. These are administered when the results may lend helpful insights during the counseling experience. For certain instruments a nominal fee is assessed.
Email Disclaimer
We discourage people from contacting us via e-mail regarding personal problems. The nature of e-mail is such that we cannot guarantee the confidentiality of your correspondence, nor do we find e-mail communications as useful as in-depth, face-to-face contact. Moreover, we cannot guarantee that we will read e-mail right away or respond in a timely fashion.
