Counseling Services 
Who Uses Our Counseling Services

The life of a Westminster College student is not always easy. Sometimes our students feel overwhelmed with academic, career, relationship, family and other concerns. When stress and tension build, students frequently experience physical, emotional, social or spiritual distress. If you are feeling confused, overwhelmed, stressed, anxious or not even sure how you feel, you are not alone ? over 75% of all Westminster students use our services sometime before they graduate. We want to help you, no matter what type of difficulty you are experiencing

Appointments

To make an appointment call the clinic coordinator at extension #5361 or drop by our center. If you find that you cannot keep a scheduled appointment, it is your responsibility to contact Counseling and Health Services as soon as possible to cancel and/or reschedule. This gives us an opportunity to use the time for another student. If a counselor cannot keep a scheduled appointment, every effort will be made to contact you.

The First Counseling Session

During your first meeting, you and your counselor will discuss the concerns that brought you to our center. Together, you and your counselor will explore various ways of dealing with these challenges. This first session may be sufficient, or you and your counselor may decide on some type of on-going counseling within our Center. Our services utilize a short-term, developmental format that is very effective with the majority of students seeking help. Sometimes it is necessary for a student to be involved in longer-term counseling or to receive more specialized types of assistance. When this occurs, we will make every effort to help you obtain access to these services within the mid-Missouri area.

Costs

There is no charge for individual counseling. Occasionally, a workshop may have a nominal fee that covers some of the costs of materials and some tests or inventories may have a small charge. These fees can be waived if you are not in a position to afford them.

Confidentiality

Our counseling staff makes confidentiality " both within and outside the college " a primary concern. Your contacts with our services will not be discussed with anyone outside Counseling and Health Services without your permission, except in those rare instances where we are required by law or by a court order to reveal particular information. Record keeping (and on occasion, tape recording with your consent) is done for the counselor's use in order to be of maximum help to you. Please feel free to discuss any questions you may have regarding our services or policies with your counselor.