Iowa State University - Student Counseling Services

Student Counseling Services

The mission of the Student Counseling Service (SCS) is to promote the positive development and mental health of ISU students and to effectively deal with student crises. We support student retention by helping students realize their potential and by empowering them to clarify and strive toward their personal and academic goals. SCS is dedicated to providing comprehensive and effective services including: counseling in individual, couples, and group modes; career exploration; consultation; educational presentations or workshops; testing; and crisis intervention. Our services focus holistically on the emotional, cognitive, behavioral, physical, and spiritual components of students as we encourage self-determined development and change. SCS provides services from both preventive and remedial perspectives. We provide direct services to enrolled students as well as consultation to faculty, staff and administrators who work with students and to family members and other professionals involved with students. The staff is sensitive to the influence of socio-cultural factors as well as individual differences and strives to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population at Iowa State University. SCS is accredited by the International Association of Counseling Centers.

SCS also serves the University mission by providing clinical training and supervision for doctoral students in the Counseling Psychology programs at ISU and is a nationally accredited internship setting for counseling or clinical psychology students completing a PhD from universities across the country. SCS staff members, as trainers and supervisors, are dedicated to promoting excellence in the professional education of doctoral students and in the mentoring of developing professionals.

Staff members of the Student Counseling Service are committed to maintaining the highest standards of competence and ethics through their own professional development and continuing education. All members of the senior staff must hold an advanced graduate degree in the field of mental health. Each member also must hold a state license to practice or be completing final steps toward that licensure. It is the desire of the Student Counseling Service that our services contribute to the health of the ISU community, the community at large, and the profession of psychological counseling.