Counseling

Counselors can help you accomplish personal, academic, and career goals.

Counseling enables you to overcome barriers to learning such as mental illness, challenging issues, confusion and indecision. Through counseling you can acquire behavior, skills, attitudes and resources necessary for:

• Success during college
• A lifetime of productivity, personal growth and responsible citizenship

All students enrolled at Elmira College are provided free, confidential counseling services as need arises or as they desire to seek support. The scope of service is individualized to your specific 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

Confidentiality

Interactions with your counselor, the content of your sessions, your records, and progress in counseling are confidential within the medical team of the Clarke Health Center. Counseling records remain at the Clarke Health Center and are not part of your student record. Information can be shared with others only when:

• You give your signed consent enabling your counselor to share information
• You present a serious danger to yourself or others
• You report current abuse of a minor, elderly or disabled person
• Your record is subpoenaed by a court of law

Please ask questions or express any concerns you have about confidentiality.

Schedule an Appointment

To schedule a counseling appointment please call the Clarke Health Center at (607) 735-1750 or visit the CHC Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

After Hours Emergency/Crisis

In the event of an after hours emergency or mental health crisis, please contact the Community Coordinator on duty or Campus Safety at (607) 735-1777.

Also consider calling the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). 

www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

Refer a Student

If you are concerned about the emotional wellbeing of a student, share your concern with that person by giving specific feedback about the concerning behaviors. If the student agrees that there is a problem and wants to address it, mention that counseling services are available. Consider offering to accompany the student to an initial appointment if doubt or discomfort about counseling is expressed.

If the problem is critical or involves safety issues, contact the Clarke Health Center during business hours, or Campus Security or the duty RLC on weeknights and weekends.

Contact Us

Please call us at (607) 735-1750 to consider how we can help you or another student you care about.

If you have an urgent mental health need, call Office of Campus Safety at (607) 735-1777. They are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you have questions or concerns about counseling services, contact Dr. Kevin Murphy, Director of Counseling, at kmurphy@elmira.edu.

You may also leave an anonymous comment in the suggestion box located in the Clarke Health Center reception area.