Counseling Center Mission
The Houghton College Counseling Center has a four-fold mission. The components of this mission are: (1) counseling, (2) education, (3) consultation and (4) crisis intervention.
Counseling, both individual and group, is our first and foremost goal. We work very hard to provide the best service that we can. The Center’s counselors are approachable and, with rare exception, students report satisfaction with the services they receive. Because our staff is small and our purpose is to provide services for our students, we are not able to offer counseling services for faculty or staff. We are available to consult with a faculty or staff member on a short-term basis, however, for assessment or to assist in a referral to a private practitioner.
Education is also an important function for us and we provide it in a number of ways. First, the counseling we provide has a very strong educational component. This is especially true when working with young adults. Many of the concerns college students bring to counseling are developmental in nature and education is essential for the resolution of these issues.
We are involved in the annual training of the residence life staff through workshops presented to enhance listening skills, confronting skills, and crisis intervention. The staff also provides both classroom and other presentations on a variety of topics as requested by faculty or staff. The Center has also been an internship sight for graduate students from Alfred and Saint Bonaventure Universities.
Finally, the Center has a small resource library for general use. Books, videotapes, and cassettes offering information on relationships, family dynamics, sexual harassment, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, stress, grief, self-injury and other topics are available. Our website contains links to several helpful sites with information about mental health.
Consultation is provided in a number of ways. A student may not want or need a counseling experience, but may have questions about how to handle a difficult roommate, a situation at home, or a troublesome relationship. Students who have met with a counselor on a one time basis have found the consults to be very helpful. We also provide consultations for faculty and staff. You may be wondering about a student with whom you have frequent contact. Perhaps a student is exhibiting disruptive behavior in class or on the job. We want you to be able to discuss this situation with one of our staff. While we cannot provide long term counseling for faculty and staff, we can assist you with personal consultation and referrals.
Crisis Intervention is another important function of the Counseling Center during times when a student may find himself or herself in a crisis. A family member has become seriously ill or has died. A student feels suicidal and takes an overdose of medication. You may be the first to discover such a situation. Our counselors are available at any hour to help students, faculty, and staff manage these situations.
We believe our mission as outlined above distinguishes a counseling center, which has a more pervasive presence on campus, from a group of individuals providing hourly counseling services. This difference is important, since we believe the counseling center model to be more responsive to the College’s overall mission as a community based Christian Liberal Arts College.
