Who We Are
The Counseling Center is a short-term, focused treatment agency. If it appears that you need and/or want long-term therapy, your therapist will help you in locating professional help off-campus.
We also offer a wide variety of services. If it's determined that one of these services will best meet your needs, it will be recommended.
Counseling Center Services
How We Do Our Work
The Counseling Center is here to help students grow and thrive. Identities, history, and experiences continuously shape each individual and the world. Therefore, we provide training, prevention, support, and behavioral health care that is responsive to each person’s unique experiences so that students can live fulfilling and socially responsible lives.
The Environment We Create
At the Ball State University Counseling Center, we are committed to creating a safe and welcoming environment where individuals from all backgrounds feel valued and respected. We strive to create a space where individuals feel comfortable expressing themselves and their concerns without fear of judgment or discrimination. We acknowledge the unique experiences and perspectives that each individual brings to our center and are committed to providing supportive services to all. We welcome feedback from our clients and the broader community to help us continually improve our services.
Your Therapist
The staff at the Counseling Center is made up of psychologists, social workers, mental health counselors, and graduate student therapists-in-training. Feel free to inquire about your therapist’s background and training. It's important that you have confidence in your therapist and their ability to help you. If for some reason you are uncomfortable with your assigned counselor, please talk with them so that a change may be considered.
Staff Directory
Scope of Services
The Counseling Center is able to offer a wide variety of services for many students. When we are not able to provide the services needed, we help connect students to those resources.
The Counseling Center is committed to helping all students. Due to the large number of students requesting services, we use the following criterion to determine how best to serve as many students as possible. These criteria are guidelines and the decision about providing treatment will be made on an individual basis by your therapist in consultation with you. All students are welcome to contact the Counseling Center for a 1st appointment to discuss their concerns and develop a plan.
We Take Your Concerns Seriously
The staff at the Counseling Center is made up of psychologists, counseling specialists, and graduate students-in-training. Feel free to inquire about your counselor's background and training.
It's important that you have confidence in your counselor and his/her ability to help you. If for some reason you are uncomfortable with your assigned counselor, please talk with him/her so that a change may be considered.
- Ball State students are eligible for all Counseling Center services during the academic year if they are enrolled at least half-time (undergraduate students- six hours; graduate students- five hours).
- Ball State students are eligible for all Counseling Center services during the summer sessions if they are enrolled in classes during summer or have been enrolled during Spring Semester and are registered for Fall Semester.
- Enrolled incoming first year or transfer students are eligible for all Counseling Center services one month prior to the first day of classes.
- Ball State students who are already receiving Counseling Center services are eligible for counseling services for one month following graduation or their last day of enrollment upon withdrawing from the university.
- Ball State students enrolled less than half-time are eligible to use the Resource & Relaxation Room, WellTrack, Outreach Workshops, Outreach Groups, Skills Groups, Therapy Groups, and Consultation & Community Referral.
- Faculty and staff are only eligible for Consultation & Community Referral.
Typical Issues addressed by the Counseling Center include:
- college transition concerns (coming to college or leaving/graduating from college)
- academic performance and academic-related issues (motivation, perfectionism, interpersonal communication, self-discipline)
- adjustment concerns (dealing with transitions, new life circumstances, etc.)
- interpersonal concerns and relationship issues with friends, family, roommates or romantic partners (conflicts, communication, break-ups, assertiveness, etc.)
- development of adult identities (figuring out who you are and how you fit into the world can be complex- we can help)
- mood, anxiety, or self-esteem issues (depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, social anxiety, self-defeating behaviors)
- alcohol or Substance use issues
- eating Concerns (students with Anorexia Nervosa or more serious eating concerns may need to be referred to an appropriate provider)
- trauma issues (domestic violence, history of abuse, sexual assault, etc.)
- grief and loss
Some issues that typically not addressed by the Counseling Center are:
- court-mandated counseling services (i.e., anger-management or substance abuse), forensic or custody evaluations
- counseling or assessment services required by employers, government agencies, or academic departments
- documentation of psychological conditions solely for purposes such as special academic, employment, travel, or housing accommodations (i.e. emotional support animals). However, the documentation may be provided when the student making the request is, or has been, a Counseling Center client and the treating therapist believes they have sufficient information to provide this documentation.
- comprehensive psychological evaluation of any type (including but not limited to assessment for learning disabilities, ADHD assessments, neuropsychological evaluations, or pre-surgical mental health evaluations)
- individual counseling initiated only for course credit
- lack of motivation or engagement in treatment (as evidenced by failure to comply with treatment recommendations or inconsistent attendance)
- students needing medical detoxification and/or medical stabilization
- clients who exhibit inappropriate, harassing, menacing, threatening, or violent behaviors toward the therapist or Counseling Center staff
- inability to identify a treatment goal appropriate for brief therapy
- ongoing treatment relationship with another mental health provider
- students who appear to need long term treatment beyond the scope of Counseling Center services (students consistently needing services more than once per week, students needing intensive outpatient or inpatient treatment, students needing long-term therapy or students needing frequent urgent consultation that cannot be stabilized with short-term crisis intervention)
Confidentiality
The Counseling Center has a strong commitment to keeping the information you share confidential. Beyond our own commitment to confidentiality, Indiana law requires it. The law states that counseling information must remain confidential unless you indicate in writing that you wish the information to be communicated to specific persons outside the Center.
Exceptions to confidentiality are that a therapist will disclose information:
- if it is deemed necessary to protect you or someone from imminent danger;
- in cases of child abuse; and
- in those rare incidences when the courts subpoena Counseling Center records.
Rights of Consultation
Your therapist may consult with other professionals at the Counseling Center in order to provide the best treatment possible for you. They may also consult with the Student Health Center if medical consultation is needed. Your written consent for these consultations is not required, however, you will be informed about such consultation and the nature and reasons for such disclosures will be discussed with you.
Since the Counseling Center is also a training center, your therapist may be a graduate student therapist-in-training. All trainees are supervised and their cases discussed with their supervisors. The intention of this supervision is to promote the highest quality care. To that end you may be asked by your therapist to digitally record your sessions. If you agree, that process will be discussed with you and your written permission requested. At all times, your privacy and care will be treated with the highest regard.