University
Health and Counseling Services
Overview of
Counseling Services
The Counseling Center offers comprehensive psychological services to the students
of the University of Southern Maine. The staff of the Counseling Center is
comprised of a diverse group of professionals, including licensed psychologists,
a professional clinical counselor, a clinical social worker, and graduate interns. Together they embody a vast amount of experience with a multitude of issues.
In addition to direct services to the student population, the Counseling
Center acts as a resource for the entire USM community. The following is a
description of our services and initiatives.
Clinical counseling:
Students may take advantage of individual counseling sessions, group counseling, couples'
counseling, and professional referral to ongoing or specialized care within the community.
The most common presenting concerns among our clientele include relationship issues,
depression, anxiety, adjustment issues, and substance abuse.
Crisis intervention: The Counseling Center offers immediate response to students,
faculty, and staff members in the case of a mental health emergency.
The Counseling Center staff share on-call responsibilities, being available 24 hours a day
for phone consultation and evaluation. The Center coordinates care with local crisis
response service agencies and other providers to assure that the situation receives a prompt,
effective response.
Consultation:
University Counseling Services staff often consult with members
of the university community to assist them in working with
students who may be experiencing a mental health crisis.
UCS staff also consult routinely on general psychological
issues.Psychoeducation: The Counseling Center
offers various time-limited groups throughout the school year on a variety of topics. Such
topics have included eating disorders, self-care, assertiveness, and relationship issues.
Through collaboration with the Office of Community Standards and USM's Department of
Residential Life, the Counseling Center facilitates Alcohol Education and Marijuana Education
group experiences.
Outreach: Throughout the year, the staff seek
out opportunities to engage with the student population, and in turn are sought out by
members of USM faculty and staff for their expertise. Our staff members are active
participants in such traditional college events as National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week,
the First-Year Student Orientation, and National Depression Screening Day. Other initiatives
include guest-speaking engagements in the classroom, participation in panel discussions,
and the development of awareness programming for the residence hall population.
Online Resource for Faculty/Staff: U.C.S. has created a guide for Staff and Faculty
of how to assist and refer students who may be in distress. The guide is available online
at the following link - http://usm.maine.edu/ucs/guide.htm
Training: The Counseling Center is a training site for master's and doctoral interns.
Our graduate interns enjoy a broad-based training experience, and provide quality services to
USM students under the close clinical supervision of the Center's staff members.
Contact Us:
(207) 780-4050
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