Counseling
Centre Counseling provides free and confidential mental health counseling for enrolled and on campus Centre students experiencing mental health, substance abuse, and relationship problems during the academic year. Centre Counseling is located in Parsons Center for Student Health and Counseling. Four licensed mental health professionals are available by scheduled appointment to see students who are experiencing such problems as adjustment to college life, general stress, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, family and relationship issues, grief and loss, discrimination, sexual assault, trauma, and alcohol and drug use problems. The number of counseling sessions provided is determined by the counselor and based on the severity of the student's needs.
Centre Counseling will assist students with referrals for off-campus practitioners when the other professionals' specialized knowledge or expertise is needed to serve the student fully or when the student’s mental health needs are beyond the expertise of Centre Counseling staff. Centre Counseling will also provide referral information for off-campus providers at a student’s request. Any off-campus mental health services to students are the financial responsibility of the student and/or their family.
Centre Counseling is open when classes are in session and is closed when classes are not in session. Therefore, counseling is not available to students during academic breaks including the summer break, breaks between semesters, Thanksgiving break and spring and fall break. There are some limited counseling services available during summer term through summer school.
Likewise, as Centre counselors are licensed in the State of Kentucky, Centre Counseling is not available to students who are off campus for study away, study abroad or off-campus internships. Centre counselors will work with interested students prior to departure to help them develop a mental health plan for their study away or study abroad experiences.
Student Health medical staff is available to prescribe some mental health medications; referrals for other medication and psychiatric consults are made by Counseling staff or Student Health staff to off-campus providers.
Educational programs for residence halls and campus groups are available on some mental health, substance abuse, and wellness topics. For an updated list of available programming, please see the Centre website. Mental health and substance use educational resources are available on the Centre website.
Counseling appointments may be made by calling 859-238-5740 or emailing counseling@centre.edu or by filling out the appointment request on the website. If a student has an after-hours mental health emergency that cannot wait until the next day, they may reach an on-call Centre counselor by calling 859-319-1546. Students may also choose to call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline: “988”.
The College reserves the right to mandate mental health or substance abuse assessments, especially in instances where the student’s behaviors, statements or conduct can reasonably be interpreted as a possible threat of serious harm to themselves or to the campus community. The determination may be made by members of the College’s Behavioral Intervention Team, which includes a licensed mental health professional or by the Director of Centre Counseling. In those situations, if a student is required to participate in an assessment, and refuses to participate, the College reserves the right to remove the student from the residence halls, and/or the College, depending upon the nature and severity of the threat or possible threat. The College also reserves the right to contact the student’s parents or guardian in these serious situations.