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The following list summarizes the many services offered by the CCSD.
- Clinical Services:
- Personal Counseling
- Couples Counseling/Family
- Group Psychotherapy
- Psychological Testing and Evaluation
- Workshops and Outreach Services:
- Personal Development Programs
- Student Organization Liaison
- Faculty/Staff Consultation and Liaison
- Addiction and Substance Abuse Services:
- Assessment of Addiction Concerns
- Individual Counseling
- Group Counseling
- Consultation and Referrals
- Workshops and Presentations
All currently registered students, part-time and full-time, are eligible for CCSD services.
No. The Center for Counseling and Student Development (CCSD) is partially funded by the health services fee, included in your tuition. There is no additional fee for CCSD services.
The decision to begin counseling is an important one. Clients have reported both a greater level of comfort and more favorable results when they understand what to expect from the counseling process. Counseling may help you with a variety of concerns including personal issues (e.g., anxiety, depression, or relationship problems), career exploration and planning (e.g., clarification of your career interests and employment options), and academic problems (e.g., test-taking, study skills, and time management). After discussing the concerns that led you to counseling, you and your counselor will decide which services are appropriate. Referrals to workshops, group counseling, or psychiatric consultation may also be made, as appropriate.
In order to benefit fully from counseling, the following recommendations are offered:
- Attend scheduled sessions.
- Be specific about concerns that led to your decision to seek counseling.
- Establish with your counselor desired goals and outcomes to be achieved in counseling.
- Discuss your progress with your counselor as you go along, and modify your goals if necessary.
- Participate actively, and be as open and honest as possible.
- Be prepared for your sessions.
- Complete (or at least attempt) any 'homework'.
- Tell your counselor if you don't think you're being helped.
Counseling provides a safe, non-judgmental and comfortable atmosphere to discuss any issue of concern.
Some reasons people attend counseling are to get some things off their chest, to seek help in making a big decision, to solve a problem or to simply have someone listen.
Successful counseling is a joint process requiring your motivation and active involvement.
The more actively involved you are the more effective counseling will be for you.
The following is a list of problems commonly reported by college students. While some students may resolve these issues, counseling may be helpful if you have ongoing concerns about any of the following. Please consider those that apply to you:
- Relationship Problems
- Family problems
- Uncomfortable in social situations
- Conflict with significant other
- Coping with a relationship break-up
- Feelings
- Anger
- Feeling sad or depressed most of the time
- Loneliness
- Thoughts of suicide
- Personal Habits and Problems
- Abusing alcohol or drugs
- Sexual abuse or assault
- Eating or sleeping too much or too little
- Coping with stress or anxiety
- Identity and Self-Esteem
- Sexuality issues
- Values clarification
- Negative thinking or low self-esteem
- Having difficulty adjusting to college
If you feel that any of theses is of significant concern to you, you may find it helpful to speak with a counselor.
Friends are not neutral. Speaking to a counselor will not change their opinion of you. Friendships are reciprocal. The counselor does not expect anything in return. Your time is totally focused on you. Friends don’t have the professional training, education and experience to best help you.
During counseling sessions, you are in charge. The counselor will follow your lead. No one can make you talk about anything you don’t want to discuss. You make your own choices.
Students may initiate services by visiting the Center for Counseling and Student Development located on the 1st floor of the Miles Connor Administration Building. An appointment for services may be made upon completion of the appropriate paperwork.
We welcome your interest and contact. We also value your privacy.
Please consider the following information prior to sending us e-mail:
E-mail is not an appropriate medium for individual questions regarding personal or career counseling. It is most appropriate requesting general information regarding services, resources, or other campus information. Our staff does not respond to inquires from our clients regarding specific counseling issues. Confidentiality is essential to the counseling process and cannot be assured with e-mail. We cannot guarantee that the contents of an e-mail message will remain confidential. While we will do our best to keep your communication private, e-mail usage can be monitored and the content of your personal messages may be read by others. Staff access to e-mail is also limited to CCSD work hours. Staff does not have access to e-mail after hours or on weekends. Also, you have no way of knowing if a specific staff member is unavailable due to illness, vacation or other reasons. This means that your message may not be read immediately. If time is of particular concern for you, please consider calling our office when requesting information.
If you are a CSU student seeking counseling, please visit our office in the Center for Counseling and Student Development, in the Miles Connor Administration Building, 1st floor, to obtain more information.
- Academic Problems
- Excessive procrastination
- Uncharacteristically poor work
- Inconsistent work
- Repeated requests for special consideration
- Career/Major indecision
- Interpersonal Interactions
- Dependency on advisor/'hanging around'
- Avoidance of professor or other students
- Behavior which regularly disrupts classroom
- Complaints from peers
- Behavioral Markers
- Marked change in personal hygiene
- Dramatic weight gain or loss
- Frequently falling asleep in class
- Irritability, particularly in conjunction with unruly behavior
- Impaired speech or garbled, disjointed thoughts
- Unusually soft or loud voice, or unusually slow or fast speech
- If you become aware that a student is having personal, academic, or social problems it is often useful to ask: 'Are you talking with anyone about this?'
- If you feel that the student would benefit from a referral for counseling, it is usually best to express your concern and recommendation directly to the student. It is also generally better to suggest counseling to a student and allow the student to make his or her own decision. But if a student needs help immediately, offer to call the Center for Counseling and Student Development with the student present.
Client confidentiality prohibits us from providing you with information about a student whom you have referred to us, but it is almost always appropriate for you to check back with the student, to ascertain whether he or she has followed through on your recommendation. This communicates your continued interest and concern. If you are concerned about a student or situation, but are not sure how to proceed, call Center for Counseling and Student Development (CCSD) 410-951-3939.
Student records maintained within the CCSD are deemed to be confidential and are not considered to be public information. This is clearly stipulated in the CCSD's Policy and Procedures Handbook and in the Authorization Forms that students read and sign prior to receiving psychological services. Issues of confidentiality, privacy and security regarding psychological records are enforced by state and national rules, laws and standards that regulate psychology as a discipline relevant accreditation boards (the International Association of Counseling Services; the American Psychological Association and CSU policies. More specifically, the Center for Counseling and Student Development adheres to the CSU Information Disclosure and Confidentiality Policy, the Health Information Portability and Privacy Act (HIPAA), Privacy Rule (45 C.F.R.., parts 160 and 164) the Ethical Principles of Psychologists (Principle 5. Privacy and Confidentiality), the Standards for Providers of Psychological Services and the Maryland Statutes 18-201, 18-202, and 18-205 Psychological Services.
Students initiating services at the CCSD are required to review HIPAA and the Privacy Notice prior to receiving services.
Supporting Documentation - Legal and Ethical Documents:
- Ethical Principals of Psychologists and Code of Conduct
- Standards for Providers of Psychological Services
- Maryland Statutes 18-201, 18-202, and 18-205
- Health Information Portability and Privacy Act
- HIPAA Provider-Patient Agreement
- HIPAA Maryland Notice Form
- HIPAA Policies and Procedures
- CSU Information Disclosure and Confidentiality Policy
Not unless you give your counselor written permission for such disclosure, or your counselor believes you are at significant risk to hurt yourself or another person.
The CCSD services are available Monday through Friday, 8:30 A.M.. to 5:00 P.M. Evening hours are scheduled by appointment only. The CCSD is open year round, except for university holidays.
Suggesting that a friend seek counseling can be a demonstration of caring and concern, not of judgment and condemnation. Tell your friend that you are concerned for his/her well-being, and would like to see him/her feeling more happy and content than is currently the case. Explain to your friend that although you are available to lend support, you are not a professional, and you believe that the assistance you can offer is limited. You can also offer to be with your friend while he/she makes a counseling appointment by phone or in person, and to walk him/her to Coppin State University Center for Counseling and Student Development when it is time for the appointment.
No. They can refer you to psychiatrists in the community who could prescribe medication if it is appropriate.
If you are experiencing a mental health emergency, the first available counselor will see you. Otherwise, please make an appointment, and you will most likely be seen within a few days.
If you have a preference for a particular counselor we will attempt to meet your request, whenever possible. If you would to switch counselors after you have already begun counseling, let the secretary know that you would like to switch, and this can be accommodated. If you feel able to do so, it is also best if you also discuss this with the counselor you began working with.
Call CCSD at (410) 951-3939 for more details.
