You are not Alone!
When you need an objective, caring listener who is knowledgeable about a wide range of human concerns, the Counseling Center is the place to go. Successful relationships, careers and personal satisfaction frequently emerge from the solutions to life problems addressed in college.
Length of counseling varies--we place a emphasis on time-limited, developmentally-oriented therapy directed at helping students succeed in the university environment. Longer-term services are available as staffing expertise and resources allow. We will also assist in making referrals to off-campus professionals when specialized or longer-term services are needed.
Individual & Couples Counseling
Groups
Crisis Intervention
Confidentiality
What students say about us
Where to find Academic and Career Counseling
Individual & Couples Counseling
Students seek help for a variety of personal issues. Some of the most common are:
- Self-esteem and identity
- Relationships (family, friends, significant others)
- Depression
- Anxiety and Stress
- Grief
- Eating Disorders & Body Image Concerns
- Substance Abuse
If you are interested in participating in personal counseling, you simply need to call or stop by 410 Bowman Hall to schedule an appointment. You'll be asked to complete some preliminary paper work and scheduled to attend the first available triage appointment--usually within 1-2 days. The triage appointment involves a brief assessment of your concerns in order to match you with a counselor based on your personal preferences and staff expertise and availability.
If you are not sure whether the Counseling Center is the place to go, contact us and we can assess it together. We will do our best to find the best place to meet your needs.
For more information, see Frequently Asked Questions, and What Students Say about their counseling experience with us.
Groups
Sometimes it's helpful to work through personal problems with other people who are facing the same issues. The Counseling Center will sponsor or co-sponsor special-topic groups as the need arises. If you have an idea for a group, please give us a call at 232-2468.
2009/10 Groups
- Mindfulness Meditation Group
Meeting time/place: Mondays from 6:00 pm—7:00 pm; begining 11/2/2009 to 12/7/2009; 425 Bowman Hall. Questions: contact Mary Jackelen at jackelenm@uwstout.edu.
- Open Door (LGBTQ Support Group)
Mondays from 5:15-6:15; Ally Center
Contact Julie Miller, LGBTQ Coordinator, for more information. 232-5622.
Crisis Intervention
For emergencies regarding student safety and well-being, including suicidal thoughts or attempts, threats to other persons and sexual assault, we will do everything we can to respond in a timely fashion. If you are experiencing a personal crisis, see Emergency/After-Hours Assistance.
Confidentiality
All counseling records are kept confidential, and are not part of university records. With rare exceptions, no information is released to anyone outside the Counseling Center, including other university offices, faculty, staff, or parents without written consent. Exceptions to confidentiality include life-threatening situations (i.e., when someone is deemed to be an imminent danger to harm themselves or others; or in cases of suspected child abuse) or appropriate court order. In these cases, Counselors may disclose information to protect a client or others from harm, or to comply with legal mandates. Counseling Center staff members may share information with each other for the purposes of consultation and training.
What Students Say About Us
The Counseling Center has a good reputation on campus! During any given year, approximately 500 students seek counseling at the Center. On average, each student attends 5-6 counseling sessions. The table below summarizes ratings of several counselor characteristics that were included on a satisfaction survey completed by student clients after the fall and spring semesters. It is clear that clients experienced their counselors in a very positive light overall, giving them an average rating of 4.6 on a 5 point scale (from “poor” to “excellent”).
Ratings of Counselor Characteristics
Item
08/09
07/08
06/07
05/06
Respect and acceptance
4.7
4.6
4.8
4.7
Caring and supportiveness
4.7
4.6
4.7
4.7
Understanding of concerns
4.6
4.6
4.7
4.5
Knowledge/competence
4.7
4.6
4.7
4.6
Support of decision-making
4.6
4.6
4.6
4.6
Helpfulness in clarifying/reaching goals
4.5
4.5
4.5
4.5
Sensitivity to individual differences
4.6
4.6
4.5
4.6
We also ask students to tell us how counseling was helpful to them. The table below summarizes the percentage of students who marked "agree" or "strongly agree" in each category.
Client ratings of specific improvements
| As a result of Counseling I have been able to…. | 08/09 | 07/08 | 06/07 |
| Make improvements on the specific issues for which I sought counseling | 88% | NA | NA |
| Understand myself better | 88% | 82% | 85% |
| Make more effective decisions | 82% | 73% | 79% |
| Cope better with mental health symptoms (depression, anxiety, eating, alcohol abuse) | 81% | NA | NA |
| Manage stress more effectively | 77% | 74% | 74% |
| Live a healthier lifestyle in at least one area (sleep, diet, exercise, AOD use) | 77% | 70% | 73% |
| Improve my relationships | 74% | 73% | 75% |
| Focus better on studies | 67% | 60% | 61% |
Narrative comments were also quite positive overall. A few examples are listed below.
- “Great services. I love the proactive approach that my counselor took.”
- “The Counseling Center helped me through some hard times and for that I am thankful. I have seen counselors at other facilities in the past and [my counselor here] was much better.”
- “Even when I came in for an emergency session, while my counselor was unavailable, they fit me in immediately and had me talk to someone else.”
- “As an RA I have had an excellent experience at the Counseling Center, and I have recommended and gotten a few friends to seek help there also.”
- “I felt that the counselor I was placed with was a great fit for me and what I want to get out of counseling. I was able to be very open and honest with him and the advice and support I was given was really great.”
Finally, 90% of students who have completed the satisfaction survey in the past few years rated the overall quality of service as “very good” or “excellent, and 95% agreed or strongly agreed that they would return in the future, if needed and would recommend the Counseling Center to a friend.
Where to find Academic & Career Counseling
Specialized services and resources for academic and career-related concerns are available through the UW-Stout Advisement Center. There you can talk to professional advisors about such things as making schedule changes, academic program changes, transfer decisions, and withdrawing from UW-Stout. You can also take interest assessments and consult with someone about exploring different majors and careers.
Additionally, Career Services provides assistance with resume and cover letter writing, interviewing, and finding jobs, co-ops, and internships.