Prairie State College Personal Counseling mission is to prepare students for learning and personal success throughout life. We educate and facilitate the growth of the whole person for living, learning, and coping in an unpredictable and diverse world. We work in conjunction with our colleagues across campus toward the promotion of a healthy campus environment for all those who learn and work at PSC by providing professional outreach and educational services and by fostering collaborative relationships across the campus.

The Personal Counseling Department seeks to create and sustain a campus environment that supports the holistic development of each student and contributes to their optimal academic success by:

• Facilitating and supporting identity development
• Community responsibility
• Health and wellness
• Multicultural awareness
• Social justice
• Mental health development

Personal Counseling

Personal Counseling Services aims to encourage the special well-being and academic success of students.  Counseling services addresses students’ psychological, social, and emotional issues through short term counseling.

Students can discuss their personal matters to help better understand their situations, to establish goals and to work towards solutions. Referrals for long term support are provided as needed.

Resources
Lacking vital resources is a contributor to stress, which is why Personal Counseling Services connects students to community resources to obtain whatever basic needs (such as food, clothing, and emergency housing), payment for utilities, daycare, etc., that are needed.

Academic Support
Personal Counseling Services also provides academic support by teaching students how to alleviate test anxiety, develop stress management skills, and to organize their time and strengthen study habits by creating personalized to- do lists and study schedules.

Success Counseling

• Academic Goal Setting
• Individualized Time Management Plans
• Individualized Study Techniques
• GPA Recovery Strategies
• Utilizing Learning Styles
• Academic Success Plan

I was referred to see a counselor in the community instead of at PSC. What’s up with that?
During the initial assessment, our counselors gather a lot of information about what you’re dealing with now and what you’ve dealt with in the past. They evaluate whether brief therapy can address your treatment needs, or whether longer-term care in the community represents the best option for you. Our goal is to get you to the care you need as quickly and smoothly as possible. There are many factors that go into a mental health professional’s decision to recommend care in the community. As commonplace examples, active eating disorders, severe and/or chronic depression or anxiety, addiction and other conditions are often best treated in a setting not constrained by session limits. Even if you are referred to treatment in the community, your counselor may remind you that  and workshops remain available to you without limitations on sessions.