Students seek counseling for a variety of reasons. No problem is too small or big. Reaching out for help is a sign of strength. The Counseling Center is staffed by Licensed Counselors who will collaborate with you and assist you in addressing issues that affect your emotional wellbeing. Addressing these issues will help eliminate obstacles in your personal and academic life. With a few legal exceptions, counseling is a confidential process. All services provided by the Counseling Center are free. To engage in counseling or for more information, e-mail counseling@csi.cuny.edu.
Individual Counseling
Individual counseling involves meeting one-on-one with a professionally trained counselor to work through issues you may face in college and your personal life. Common concerns include anxiety, depression, relationships, family issues, drugs/alcohol, grief, self-esteem, stress and traumatic experiences. Your counselor can also help you with academic concerns such as adjusting to college, concentration, study skills, text anxiety, procrastination and time management. It is best to seek help early before your concern becomes overwhelming. Problems that are ignored can affect your schoolwork, job, life at home, and your relationships with others. Counseling may be brief or longer term. Counseling is always voluntary. If you are interested in individual counseling, e-mail counseling@csi.cuny.edu. Same day and next day appointments are available. A member of the Counseling Center will contact you to arrange an appointment.
Group Counseling
Groups bring together a number of students sharing a common concern to provide an opportunity for support, skill building, and personal growth. Groups meet once a week for 90 minutes. If you are interested in joining a group, you will first meet with a counselor to determine which group is best for you. If you are interested in one of the groups below, e-mail counseling@csi.cuny.edu for more information.
UNDERSTANDING SELF AND OTHERS
This is an unstructured group in which members are welcome to bring any issues to the group that they feel are important. It is an opportunity for members to share thoughts and express feelings in a safe and confidential environment, while also providing encouragement, support and feedback to others. The focus is flexible and can change from week to week. Some common themes are family issues, relationships, stress management, self-care, academic stress, study strategies, cultural issues, past events that clients find affect them now in any way and how members cope with depression, anxiety and other stressful situations. Members can deepen their own level of self-awareness, as well as learn how they relate to others.
COPING SKILLS
This is a structured group that teaches students how to better manage distressing feelings and/or change problematic behaviors. Common emotions that group members experience are sadness, depression, anxiety, worry, or anger. Students learn healthy ways to cope with these emotions skillfully so that they can reduce their distress, increase enjoyment in their lives, and improve aspects of their lives such as relationships or academic performance. The coping skills group is run in a supportive instructional format, in which the group leader teaches coping skills, and members have the opportunity to learn both through practicing new skills and through providing and receiving support by way of the connection with other group members.
SOCIAL SKILLS GROUP
This group is designed specifically for students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Group members will gain a better understanding of how to interact with people and manage relationships. Group members will learn how to read social cues, understand body language, how to initiate conversations and how to develop new friendships/relationships.