All students enrolled at Elmira College are provided free, confidential counseling services as need arises or they desire to seek support. The scope of service provision is individualized to each specific student's stated needs, but the counseling process as a whole is built on some universality applied tenets as follows:
- The counseling process is driven by student identified needs and goals.
- The counseling process is action oriented and task driven; the intent of the process in not to merely promote catharsis but is intended to add to the student's knowledge base, skill set, and ability to overcome whatever obstacles they are facing.
- The emphasis in the work is on proactive development of tools and problem identification so as to intervene and eradicate challenges or issues before they impede student performance.
- Ultimately the process is intended to literally teach students how to be their own therapist, and as such foster independence for life through knowledge acquisition and skill building.
Beyond the provision of individual clinical services, the Counseling Department also provides the following resources:
- Referral and advocacy services.
- Group psychoeducation.
- Assessment and evaluation services with appropriate follow up referrals.
- Trainings to various departments and student groups on campus.
- External trainings to community partners and the general public.