Auburn Student Counseling Services Provide Support and Experience For Students

Auburn University’s Student Counseling Services offers support for people’s minds upstairs on the second floor of the University’s Medical Clinic while they take care of physical ailments downstairs.

Counseling services are provided to students free of charge for help with all of the demands and anxieties accompanied by life away at school. The staff consists of a compassionate group of mental health physicians including psychologists, counselors, and consulting psychiatrists dedicated to promoting mental health and well-being.

Clinicians conduct individual and group counseling for those seeking support within the office. Group counseling usually consists of five to seven people and is generally co-facilitated by graduate clinicians.

The graduate training program at Student Counseling Services provides a practical application of theory for doctoral students to apply what they have learned in the classroom. Programs such as clinical psychology, counseling psychology, marriage and family therapy require counseling practicum as a part of the curriculum.

The training program affords these students the opportunity to work in the office among professionals for an entire academic year. Students practice what they have learned in class and are provided feedback on therapy skills by their supervisors.

“As we are providing their training and supervision we have to keep on top of what we are doing and it also makes us think about what we are doing a little more,” said Ann Marie Delsignore, senior staff clinician and training coordinator. “I think in some ways it is a reciprocal process because they are learning from us and by virtue we are learning from them, which is amazing.”

Didactic training seminars are conducted weekly for graduate clinicians to gain directive experience with counseling. These seminars focus directly on the integration of theory with a patient’s care.

“I try to gear it to be a little more experiential for them,” said Delsignore. “It gives them real direct practice outside of the room that helps them put together what they learned in their textbook and what it actually means.”

Delsignore aspires for counseling services to become an accredited internship program in the future. This would allow students from other schools around the country a chance to learn and train among the counseling services staff here in Auburn.

The counseling services also provide outreach to groups on campus. Presentations on various mental health topics such as stress management are available for student organizations upon request.

Student counseling services is located at 400 Lem Morrison Drive in the Auburn University Medical Clinic on the second floor. To seek counseling call the office at 844-5123.