Counseling Center
Location: Health and Counseling Centers at Ward & West Building, Second Floor
Phone: 410-704-2512
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-5:00 PM, with crisis assistance by phone 24/7, 365 days a year
Graduate school presents many stresses and many opportunities to advance yourself in your future career and in life. To meet these challenges, it is important to remove emotional barriers, enhance your social and professional skills, strengthen your resilience and self-care, and formulate wise personal goals.
The Counseling Center provides help in all of these areas through a Flexible Care Model that offers culturally responsive, solution-focused treatment plans tailored to students’ unique needs. Students have access to same-day appointments so that they can speak with a therapist the very day they seek help. Students can also receive support through skills workshops, peer supports, support groups, group therapy, brief individual therapy, substance use/abuse services, online resources, referral assistance, and other psychological services, including relationship counseling (for couples, those in polyamorous relationships, friends, and roommates).
See below for examples of the issues that students address at the Counseling Center. When students' needs lie outside our scope of services, we provide individualized assistance in obtaining help from community providers.
- Stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms
- Barriers to educational or career achievement and success
- Personal effectiveness, self-esteem and self-confidence
- Life planning and direction, personal and career decision-making
- Coping with life changes and transitions
- Problems encountered in the university environment
- Suicidal or self-destructive behavior or thoughts
- Irritability and anger symptoms
- Issues with family, friends, roommates, romantic partners, or spouses
- Grief and loss
- Sexual matters
- Body image and eating issues
- Physical or sexual mistreatment or abuse
- Alcohol and drug-related problems or questions
- Personal identity development (e.g., race, class, gender, ability, sexual orientation, etc.)
The Counseling Center is staffed by psychologists, substance abuse clinicians, counselors, health educators, and other clinicians working under supervision. All services provided at the Counseling Center are confidential and nearly all are provided free of charge.
The Counseling Center offers care that is flexible, culturally responsive, solution-focused, and tailored to every student's unique needs. Students have access to same-day appointments so they can speak with a therapist the very day they seek help.
Students can schedule a same-day appointment by calling 410-704-2512, scheduling online through our website, or dropping by the Center.
Your Initial Appointment
Students are seen for a same-day appointment when they first come to the center. The goal in this initial session is to provide immediate help, as your counselor offers a listening ear, answers your questions, helps you resolve problems, and informs you about what further help might be appropriate.
Self-Help Resources and Interactive Online Help
The Counseling Center offers guides, handouts, websites, and apps that can teach you about a variety of mental health topics, and how to cope with stressors. We also offer virtual workshops and videos that can be found on our website and social media pages. We are set up to provide you with support and information on your own terms so that you can work at a pace that suits you best. Click on our website then on "Resources by Topic" to find help with self-evaluation, practicing healthy behavior, and downloading useful apps.
Togetherall
Togetherall is a 24/7 communication and emotional support platform monitored by trained clinicians. It is a safe place online to get things off your chest, have conversations, express yourself creatively, and learn how to manage your mental health. Togetherall also has other tools and courses to help you look after yourself with plenty of resources to explore. Whether you’re struggling to cope, feeling low, or just need a place to talk, Togetherall can help you explore your feelings in a safe supportive environment. Sponsored by the Student Government Association, all Towson University students can get free online mental health support anytime, any day by registering with your student email.
Welltrack Boost
Welltrack Boost is a mental health self-help app, available on your mobile device or any internet browser. Take control of your mental health and wellness journey confidentially, at your pace, and on your own timetable. As a Towson University student, you have full access to all the app’s features including video self-help courses on different mental health topics, Mood Checks, Zen Room, therapeutic tools, local resources, assessments and more. Create an account for free using your student email address!
Kognito
Want to learn more about how to support a friend in distress? Kognito is a free online training simulation course to learn effective techniques to help you notice when students show signs of distress, learn how to talk about these signs, practice sharing your concerns and learn how to motivate them to seek help. This training is available for free for all TU students!
Peer Support and Education
The Counseling Center offers peer education programs related to general mental health, body image, drug and alcohol use, and mental health in diverse communities. Students can apply to become a Peer Educator so that they can learn to provide programming around critical mental health issues that affect students and the campus community. Students can also attend workshops led by our Peer Educators to connect with peers and learn about a variety of mental health topics.
Solution-Focused Support
Beyond the initial appointment, students can return for additional same-day appointments whenever they like. In this way, you can get truly customized care - at your own pace and focused on the issues you most want to discuss. When appropriate, some students may also elect to pursue pre-scheduled ongoing counseling. Your counselor will discuss your needs with you to help you determine which approach will be most helpful for you.
Community Referrals
If you know you need ongoing rather than brief counseling and therapy, you can find community providers using the Counseling Center Community Referrals Database, or through your health insurance company's provider website. If you would like our help in securing a referral, simply make an initial appointment with the Counseling Center’s Care Manager. Our Care Manager will help you locate appropriate outside resources and navigate potential barriers to accessing care, keeping in touch with you until the referral is successfully completed
Group Services
Groups are particularly helpful for self-improvement. They offer opportunities to share experiences, solve problems and practice new skills in the company of others who are also working on self-improvement. The Center offers a wide array of group services to meet the many needs of our diverse student body. These include peer-to-peer workshops, skills workshops, support groups, and therapy groups.
The center also offers relationship counseling for students to examine and improve connections with others, be they romantic partners, friends, or roommates. We provide this service to couples as well as those in polyamorous relationships.
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program
The Counseling Center offers alcohol and other drug education, prevention, assessments, early intervention, and treatment programs to meet various personal needs. Programs are available in both individual and group formats. Services provided result in achieving a greater awareness of a problem or addressing a problem through education and treatment. The Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Abuse (ATOD) Prevention Center also now provides gambling prevention and support. For more information, including access to a number of brief screenings and self-assessments, please visit the ATOD Center’s website.
Tigers in Recovery is TU’s collegiate recovery program, which provides support for students in recovery from substance use disorders. This program offers opportunities for students in recovery to connect with other students in recovery as well as participate in social activities on and off campus. For more information, visit the program’s website.
Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness Meditation has been shown to help reduce stress and anxiety and promote a more peaceful, creative, and self-compassionate approach to one's life. Meditation opportunities include group meditation workshops, private time in the Counseling Center's Meditation Room, or meditation apps available on our website.
Massage Chairs
The Counseling Center has two Relaxon Massage Chairs that offer zero gravity shiatsu with built-in heating massage and L-track massage rollers. The chairs can be booked for 30-minute sessions during Counseling Center business hours.
Outreach and Consultation
The Counseling Center staff provides workshops and programs to the TU community on various topics, including life skills and coping, mindfulness meditation, suicide education and prevention, assertiveness training, stress management, body image, and communication skills, to name a few. Our clinicians are also available to consult with the campus community on various topics, including identifying and assisting students in distress, improving the campus environment, diversity issues, or other issues relating to the quality of life at TU.
Confidentiality
Counseling often deals with very personal and private issues. Successful counseling depends on having the freedom to express feelings, attitudes and thoughts with someone who is respectful of a person's right to privacy. Our counseling sessions are confidential; personal information is not released except with the client’s written permission or as may be required by law. The importance of confidentiality is reflected in the Counseling Center’s adherence to Maryland Law and to the Code of Ethics of the American Psychological Association.