 
· At the Carruth Center, we provide group and individual counseling for a variety of student concerns. We have a Walk-in Counseling Clinic every weekday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., where you can simply come to our offices on the third floor of the Student Services Building and tell the receptionist you want to talk with a counselor. No appointment is needed.
Here are some of the problems students frequently want to discuss:
Personal Counseling
- Difficulties Adjusting to WVU
- Self-Esteem Concerns, including sensitivity to criticism and chronic self-doubt
- Troubling Feelings, including excessive worry, moodiness, depression, or irritability
- Relationship Difficulties with roommates, family, or boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse
- Traumatic or Other Difficult Events, including past or current abuse, or sexual assault
- Identity Issues, such as concerns around sexual orientation
- Eating Problems, including overeating, fear of eating, and fear of gaining weight
Educational Counseling
- Poor Academic Performance, including how to break the news to family
- Test Anxiety
- Study Difficulties, including difficulty paying attention in class and concentrating on assignments
- Time Management Problems, such as procrastination and avoidance
Career Counseling
- Uncertainty about Major Choice
- Uncertainty in Career Direction
These issues are just some of the more common ones students come in to talk about. Sometimes a single visit to our Walk-in Counseling Clinic will be enough. For students who want to explore their concerns in more depth, or who are experiencing serious distress, we offer longer-term counseling in several formats:
Individual Counseling: At the end of your visit to our Walk-in Counseling Clinic, the counselor you meet with will make a recommendation based on what she or he has heard. Sometimes that recommendation will be that you come back for additional individual sessions to talk through the problems you're having in more depth. You are free to accept that recommendation or not, and you may request a male or female counselor if that is important to you. We will ask you to provide a list of times when you are available to meet, and we will then match you with a staff member who can meet with you at a time that works for your schedule. Because of demand, we limit the number of individual sessions a student may have in any year to 12. For most concerns, students find that 12 sessions is more than enough.
Group Counseling: At the end of your first visit to our Walk-in Counseling Clinic, the counselor may recommend that you join one of our groups. Group counseling is especially helpful for many students because it brings together anywhere from five to eight of your fellow students who share similar concerns or problems. Facilitated by two Carruth Center staff members, groups provide a safe place to find acceptance and understanding, and to share mutual support, encouragement, and help. We offer four or five groups each semester, and there is no limit on participation. For a list of current groups, click here.
Couples Counseling: For students having difficulties in a relationship, couples counseling is often the best format. Straight or gay, living together or just dating, married or maybe considering it—all sorts of couples may benefit from counseling that focuses on the relationship. Difficulties with family pressures, worry about reliving parental patterns, poor communications, and sexual problems are some of the common themes that bring couples to counseling. One or both of you may stop by our Walk-in Clinic initially to talk about the problem. The same 12-session limit applies for couples counseling as for individual counseling. |
