By Molly Burke
For those seeking help with their mental health, the Student Counseling Services are available for all students. Whether it be for balancing the stresses of everyday life, focusing on mindfulness, or dealing with a mental illness, the campus counselors are here to help.
Anne Lally, assistant director of Student Counseling Services and licensed professional clinical counselor, said the counseling services offer short-term counseling.
“[Counseling Service] is a free service. It’s also confidential. That means that no one knows you have an appointment or the content of what’s discussed in the appointment,” Lally said. “The exception to confidentiality is if you were to tell your counselor that you were going to harm yourself or others. We would intervene for your sake or the other’s.”
In short-term counseling, students can set goals for what they hope to improve on and decide on the amount of time they may need to reach their goals. Lally said some mental health issues may take more time to treat than others.
“One of the things about short-term counseling that I think is sometimes misconstrued, is that students may think they only need to be seen two or three times and they’re done, but that’s not the case. It’s very individual for each student client that sees us,” Lally said.
The Student Counseling Services have three counselors. Psychologist Ann Jaronski and Katie Stephens, a licensed professional clinical counselor, also work with Lally in aiding students.
For booking appointments, Lally said it is best to schedule ahead. However, there are walk-in opportunities every semester.
“We prefer, and it’s probably optimal for them, to schedule in advance. They walk in to schedule or call to schedule, but the walk-in [appointment] hours are during finals week. So, if a student wants to seek counseling during finals week they can just walk into our office,” Lally said.
According to Lally, the number one reason students seek counseling at Youngstown State University is anxiety. She said there are many ways counseling can help students who may face this issue, but there are some services not offered.
“[Anxiety] is something we can certainly help our students with by looking at strategies and how to manage that in a healthy way. There are occasions when it would be in the best interest to be seen weekly and for a prolonged period of time. By looking at our website, you can see the things that we do not do counseling for,” Lally said.
Some students are reluctant to go to counseling. Lally also said the Student Counseling Services are a safe place for any student, and any care received is not reported on a student’s educational record.
“It’s an opportunity for our students to connect. Many of our students live on campus, this is home to them. This is something that should be offered to them so that they have a comfortable, safe place to talk,” Lally said.
The Student Counseling Services are located on the second floor of Kilcawley Center in room 2110. For more information, visit the Student Counseling Services website.