Receive Counseling Services at Columbia College

Tired of struggling? Need to talk? Explore available confidential, professional mental health services

 
 

College life is stressful sometimes. Students may feel overwhelmed from juggling academic demands, living on one’s own for the first time, managing relationships, roommate conflict, family issues, and extracurricular activities, among other stressors. If your emotional or environmental stress is weighing you down, you're not alone. Many college students utilize counseling at some point.

Our center is staffed with experienced Licensed Professional Counselors who will partner with you to address your concerns. If you are a day campus student please do not hesitate to reach out and schedule an appointment. If you are a CCG student please see the Wellness Resource Guide below.

Benefits of counseling

Columbia College students report gaining support, insight and valuable skills for coping with stressors in a non-judgmental, confidential, safe environment as the result of counseling (Wellness, Health and Counseling Student Satisfaction Survey, 2019). Other benefits of counseling include, but are not limited to: 

  • Learning skills for managing anxiety, depression, PTSD, mood disorders, ADHD and other mental health related issues.
  • Grief and loss support
  • Working through family of origin issues
  • Support with LGBTQ issues
  • Improved interpersonal communication
  • Increased ability to tolerate and manage distress
  • Strengthened positive sense of self
  • Healthier relationships
  • Improved ability to cope with loneliness

Consultations vs counseling

Consultations involve one or two meetings with a licensed professional to address a concern, seek assistance on how to support another student, or obtain a referral to an off-campus provider. If a student chooses to engage in a counseling relationship, after the consultation, your counselor will gather more information and work with you to develop a plan for the course of counseling.

Confidentiality and privacy

Student privacy and confidentiality are important to the counseling relationship. Therefore, we take numerous measures to insure information students share is kept confidential and electronic and paper files are stored securely. When you speak with a counselor, the content of your meeting is kept confidential, unless you give your counselor written permission to share information. There are a few exceptions to confidentiality that involve safety. Your counselor will review exceptions to confidentiality in the first session, so you have the opportunity to ask questions and address any concerns, before you begin to share. 

CCG Wellness Resource Guide

988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and Information

If you or someone you know needs support regarding a crisis and/or suicidal ideation, please call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. The lifeline is free, available 24/7 and is confidential.

To obtain more information regarding how to prevent suicide, please watch the Ask, Listen, Refer training at: https://www.asklistenrefer.org/cc

Mental Health Resources

  • Visit the Psychology Today website for a list of therapists in your area: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists
  • Search mental health resources on the web by typing in “mental health resources in…” and list the city and state and/or county and state in which you live.

Title IX

If you believe you may have experienced sexual harassment or have had a change in parenting status, then you may contact the Title IX Coordinator at titleixcoordinator@ccis.edu. You may also visit this Title IX Policy Page for more information.

Additional Resources

Call 211 or visit 211.org for the following needs:

  • Food and clothing banks
  • Shelters
  • Rent assistance and utility assistance
  • Health insurance programs, Medicaid, and Medicare
  • Counseling, support groups, drug & alcohol intervention and rehabilitation programs
  • Language translation and interpretation services to help non-English-speaking people find public resources (Foreign language services vary by location), and other resources.

Know the difference between a mental health crisis and a mental health emergency

A mental health emergency is a life-threatening situation in which an individual is imminently threatening harm to self or others (has a plan and intentions to act on the plan), severely disorientated or out of touch with reality, has a severe inability to function, or is otherwise distraught and out of control.

Examples of a mental health emergency includes:

  • Acting on a suicide threat
  • Homicidal or threatening behavior
  • Self- injury needing immediate medical attention
  • Severely impaired by drugs or alcohol
  • Highly erratic or unusual behavior that indicates very unpredictable behavior and/or an inability to care for themselves.

Suggestions for what to do in case of a mental health emergency: 

  1. Call 9-8-8
  2. Call campus safety (if you are a day or evening student in Columbia, Missouri) at 573-875-7315
  3. Call Wellness, Health and Counseling Services at 573-875-7423
  4. Notify your Dean or Division Chair

A mental health crisis is a non-life threatening situation, in which an individual is exhibiting extreme emotional or behavioral distress, has thoughts about, but NO intentions and NO plan to harm self or others, disoriented or out of touch with reality, has a compromised ability to function, or is otherwise agitate and unable to be calmed.

Examples of a Mental Health Crisis includes:

  • Talking about suicide threats
  • Talking about threatening behavior
  • Self- injury, but not needing immediate medical attention
  • Alcohol or substance abuse
  • Highly erratic or unusual behavior
  • Eating disorders
  • Not taking their prescribed psychiatric medications
  • Emotionally distraught, very depressed, angry or anxious

Suggestions for what to do in case of a Mental Health Crisis

  1. Seek support by getting in contact with your medical provider and/or counselor, either on campus or in your community.  Take care of yourself by practicing good self-care and practice strategies for coping with strong emotions.
  2. Call Wellness, Health and Counseling at 573-875-7423. State that you are in crisis or are with a person in crisis.
  3. If you are a support person, remain with the person until you are able to reach help.  If you are a student in crisis, please seek support. You do not have to suffer alone.

Resources

Burrell Behavioral Health – Adult Outpatient Mental Health Services (573) 777-8300

Compass Health Network – Outpatient Mental Health Services (844) 853-8937

CenterPointe Hospital Columbia, Missouri – Inpatient and Outpatient Mental Health Services (573) 615-2001

Suicide and Crisis 24 hour Hotline – Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org/chat 

Crisis Text Line – Text: HELLO to 741741

Trevor Support Center – LGBTQ crisis line: Call (866) 488-7386 or text START to 678678

Veterans Crisis Line – Dial 988 then press 1 or text: 838255