Counseling Services
Counseling Services provides short-term/brief supportive, individual counseling free of charge for currently enrolled undergraduate students and students in the Graduate Programs in Education. Group counseling may also be provided according to students’ needs. Our mission is to provide a professional and confidential setting for the psychological, emotional, and developmental support of students as they pursue academic goals and explore personal growth, and act as a resource for faculty and staff to assist with their interactions with students. When this mission is fulfilled, the quality of students’ experience at Earlham is enhanced, and they are more likely to achieve academic and personal success.
Services are provided by licensed mental health professionals and supervised graduate student interns. Services are designed to assist students with a number of concerns and to enhance their ability to be more effective and successful in their academic and personal lives.
Students who need long-term or more intensive services and/or medication will be referred to community resources. Students are responsible for the cost of these off-campus services.
After-hours crisis calls: Please contact Earlham Counseling Services or Public Safety, if you or someone you care about needs assistance or crisis counseling outside regular office hours or call a hotline number:
Toll-free Hotlines
- National Suicide Hotline: 800.784.2433
- Transgender Suicide Hotline: 877.565.8860
- Child-Help USA (for survivors of abuse): 800.422.4453
- National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800.656.4673
Your appointment with Counseling Services
What to expect
When you arrive for your appointment, you can expect to be treated with dignity and respect. Your meeting will be kept confidential unless you give written permission for the counselor to share information with others (such as your doctor or parents). You’ll be asked to fill out a brief intake form and read and sign a “Consent for Services” form on your first visit.
During your session, you’ll be asked what has happened to bring you to counseling, and from there, you have the floor. The counselor may ask you some questions to clarify what you’re saying, and to help you clarify your own thinking. Counseling is a process of problem-solving and self-learning. You may have “homework” between sessions. Remember that the counselor is there to guide and support you, but YOU are the one who does the real work. You are the one who will work to make changes in your thinking and behavior so that you can reach your maximum potential.
Scope of Practice
All students are eligible for Earlham’s crisis intervention services. Due to limited resources, a model of brief, goals-oriented counseling is used by Counseling Services. On average, a student is seen for three sessions per semester, with a maximum of six sessions per semester. Students who need long-term or more intensive services will be referred to community resources. Students are responsible for the cost of these off-campus services. Referrals will be made with students’ needs in mind, after meeting with an Earlham counselor, who will follow up with students to assure that a good referral was made. Counseling Services is a limited service, so may not be able to meet all needs. Learn more about limitations.
Counseling Services provides the following:
An immediate and short-term emergency response to mental, emotional, physical and behavioral distress.
Short-term counseling for such matters as: anxiety, depression, loneliness, identity, stress management, time management, eating concerns, alcohol/drug use/abuse, relationship concerns, grief and loss, family stress, sexual orientation, homesickness, college-related transition, developmental issues, and personal growth and development. We also provide mental health consultations, education, and outreach programs for students, faculty and staff.
Assistance for students who have been diagnosed with one or more long-term psychiatric conditions for referrals to off-campus resources, work on time-limited focused goals, and crisis.
Skills development for academic success, such as coping skills, self-esteem work, stress management, time management, motivational skills, and reduction of performance-related anxiety (such as test anxiety).
Support and brief counseling for students recovering from sexual assault and/or domestic violence.
Assessment and referral to other campus resources, such as Health Services and the Center for Academic Enrichment, and referral to community resources, particularly for students whose presenting concerns are beyond Counseling Services’ scope of practice.
Mental health and off-campus programs
Your issues won’t go away when you go off campus, and may intensify. Work with a professional before you leave to resolve issues as best you can before the program starts and develop new coping skills or strengthen the skills you have.
More information and resources
While Earlham College provides limited support services, students are encouraged to proactively address their mental health concerns prior to coming to campus.