Students can learn about themselves
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Director Marvin Geller (l) and counselor Hue-Sun Ang of the Counseling Center (Photo by Denise Applewhite) |
Forty percent of any Princeton class comes to counseling some time in their four years, says center director
By Caroline Moseley
Counseling isboth an educational and a therapeutic process," says Marvin Geller, director of Princeton's Counseling Center.
"Our undergraduate and graduate students can learn about themselvesthey can come to understand more about the forces that shape them, and the conflicts that cause them pain. They also grapple with those aspects of their personality that can either hinder or enhance their sense of wellbeing in the world. Counseling offers people an opportunity to know themselves more fully."
Students come to the center with a variety of psychological concerns, of varying degrees of severity, says Geller, "many of which are special to their time of lifeissues of development and growth."
For example, "Students are separated from home; they have to establish an identity here. They want to have meaningful interpersonal relationships. They may be concerned about careers and, eventually, about leaving Princeton."
Academic concerns can cause problems as well: "Princeton students are in a stressful situationhigh achievers among other high achievers."
If students are "pained in their personal lives," Geller points out, "they may not be able to function effectively in any of their roles as student, friend, athlete, child, parent or mate."
12-15 percent a year
More and more students are using the Counseling Center, which is located in McCosh Health Center and is a division of University Health Services. "We used to see eight or nine percent of the student body," says Geller, "Now it's 12 or 13 percent per year."
Why the increasing numbers?
"It sometimes seems that there are more problems to deal with today the generally quickened pace of life feels more complex, more competitive," he observes.
Still, he continues, the higher census "may simply be because there is an increased public acceptance of counseling. It is more a part of the culture now; people are aware of it as an option. Students may have parents in therapy. People are definitely more willing to avail themselves of the sort of help we can offer."
About 40 percent of any Princeton class now comes to the Counseling Center at some time during their four years at Princeton, Geller says, with numbers equally divided between men and women. Most counselees are self-referred; peak periods are during holidays, exams and the post-exam period.
Crucial life decisions
A clinical psychologist who has been at Princeton since 1968, Geller enjoys "working with a population in which you can see change. They're making crucial life decisions, and it's gratifying to be a part of that process."
Since 1991 he has also been a faculty member of the Organizational Development and Consultation Program of the William Alanson White Institute in Manhattan.
The Counseling Center staff of nine psychologists and social workers and two consulting psychiatrists offers many kinds of assistance for psychological and emotional problems. The center provides up to 10 sessions per year of free individual short-term counseling to students, with subsequent referral to outside therapists or programs when necessary. The center also provides 24-hour emergency services to students.
Group therapy offerings
Group therapy is also available. Current offerings are Group Therapy for Graduate Students; Transitions, a group focusing on interpersonal relationships; Image and Identity for Students of Color, with one group for undergraduates and another for graduate students; an Eating Disorders Recovery Group; Thinking About Drinking; Coming Out, a group for graduate and undergraduate lesbian, gay and bisexual students; a bereavement group; and an Asian-American Student Forum.
Special services include the Eating Concerns Program and the Alcohol and Other Drug Program, which address individual clinical and psychoeducational needs of students. There is also an extensive referral service.
The Counseling Center has numerous publications addressed to particular issues, such as "What to Expect From Counseling," "How to Help a Friend With A Drinking Problem" and "A Student's Guide to Group Psychotherapy."
In addition, the center sponsors workshops on a variety of topics throughout the academic year.
Liaison with coaches, deans
Faculty and staff who seek counseling should contact the Employee Assistance Program offered by the Office of Human Resources.
However, faculty and staff who are concerned about the psychological condition of a student (or colleague) may consult with the Counseling Center.
"We do a lot of liaison with coaches, college staffs and deans," Geller says. The center particularly urges faculty members to be alert to students "whose levels of anxiety or depression can impede academic and personal functioning," and if a student's emotional and psychological difficulties seem to intensify, he asks that faculty members encourage the student to seek counseling.
It can be helpful, he says, to emphasize that "Speaking with an objective professional is not a sign of weakness, but rather of an adult capacity to take care of oneself."
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