Counseling services offer helping hand to students
By Henry Coffee, Contributing Writer
Friday, February 25, 2005
Central State University has just about everything on campus to entertain students. Extracurricular sports, greek life, interfaith ministry, the choir and more. Despite all the opportunities, some students do not participate. What about those students who are stressed out and feel left out? What does the university do to help them?
For many years, the university has offered counseling services through its student health service. Currently, counseling services has a full-time counselor and three part-time psychologists. The university is also advertising to hire a full-time director of counseling services.
Until this year, counselor Frank Porter split his time between teaching psychology and counseling students. This year, Porter is counseling students full-time. Porter says he sees up to 35 students a month, with the part-time staff seeing an equal number of students. Porter says students come to him for help with a variety of problems including stress, anxiety, depression, and relationship issues.
Porter spends a lot of his time visiting different residence halls giving talks about stress management. Not all of the talks have been well attended. Porters says only 20 students attended the most recent stress management session.
Counseling Services will offer a new session on social skills once a month starting Thursday, Feb. 24, 2005. The session will be held 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. in the Mercer Cafeteria and will feature a live jazz performance.
Many students say there is a need for additional counseling services. “I think the campus would be better off with some type of counseling,” junior Terrence Jones said. “Most students get into stupid stuff because they think they have no one to go to for a conversation, so they feel it’s a must to act a fool to get attention.”
Sophomore Brittany Stringer said students need a professional counselor whom they can trust with details of their personal lives. “Sometimes I want to talk to someone besides the (students) I know on campus,” Stinger said. “At Central it’s hard to determine who real and who’s fake.”
Some individuals might need an extra friend to call or visit, someone who is available and honest. Sophomore Marcus Walton said Central State has many unfocused students. He thinks a counseling service director might help those students. He thinks too many students are followers.
Counseling services is located in the Student Health Center. Call 376-6649 for an appointment or just walk in Monday to- Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
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