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Counseling Services

The Counseling Center educates students for life by providing a variety of services and programs that are consistent and consonant with the strategic plan goals of the Institution and the Division of Student Engagement and Success. Services include short-term individual counseling, group counseling, couples counseling, testing and assessment, crisis intervention, referral services, as well as outreach programming, and consultation for faculty and staff, family and friends of Georgia Southwestern State University students.

Resources

Care@GSW

GSW Wellness Hub

Talkspace

Georgia Southwestern is dedicated to ensuring every student has access to support whenever and wherever they need it.

Onsite Counseling

Georgia Southwestern offers students counseling for all concerns. Students may schedule an Initial Consultation to speak with a counselor to discuss their concerns and to develop an initial plan for addressing them. Follow-up appointments may be scheduled as necessary. During this session a counselor will assess the student’s functioning and reasons for seeking services are evaluated. The goal of the Initial Consultation is to determine the nature and impact of the presenting concerns and discuss options for addressing these concerns.

If counseling is appropriate, the counselor will recommend the most effective method of treatment, which may include one of our Life Skills Workshops, self-help resources, individual, group, and/or referral. In some cases, the first appointment is sufficient in helping students understand their concerns and creating a plan of action to address them. When a student’s presenting issues require on-going longer-term care or specialized treatment that is not provided in the Counseling Center, we utilize our Referral Service to provide a connection to an off-campus community provider coordinated by our Assistant Director.

Please arrive on time for your appointment to avoid rescheduling or a shortened meeting with the counselor. Call the Counseling Center if you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment at 229-931-2676.

Contact

Office of Student Health & Counseling Services

Student Success Center
Third Floor
Room 3435

229-931-2676
counseling@gsw.edu

Monday – Friday 9:00am – 5:00pm

Counseling Staff


Always here for you

Students have access to a variety of well-being resources through our initiative Care@GSWAccess the GSW Wellness Hub online or download the Campus Well app for iOS or Android and search Georgia Southwestern.

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Counseling Options

Onsite Counseling

Onsite Counseling is for scheduled appointments and emergencies Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Call 229- 931-2676.

Christie Campus Health (Care@GSW)

Christie Campus Health provides a 24/7/365 mental health support line for in-the-moment support regardless of time of day or your location. Call 833-855-0079. No-cost telehealth and in-person treatment sessions provided by a diverse network of licensed mental health clinicians. Virtual Psychiatric Clinics to offer assessment and medication management. Referral to Psychiatric Clinics comes from Student Counseling Services.

Protocol

Protocol offers after hours emergency services through Student Counseling Services. Call 229-931-2329. Protocol is a telephonic behavioral health service, for seamless access to crisis assessment, intervention, and stabilization.

Wellness Hub

The GSW Wellness Hub is an online wellness magazine and app with articles and videos on mental health and wellness including sleep habits, study tips, new food recipes and even fitness routines. Access the Wellness Hub at gswwellnesshub.com or by downloading the CampusWell app on Apple or Android. Once downloaded, search for Georgia Southwestern State University to access the Care@GSW Wellness Hub.

Mission
Confidentiality
About Emails
The mission of the Georgia Southwestern State University Counseling Center is to enhance the academic and personal experience and success of all students by providing a variety of counseling services to students and the greater campus community. The Counseling Center accomplishes its mission by offering services that facilitate students' personal development; assisting in the alleviation, remediation, and prevention of distress; as well as providing services that educate students in ways that develop self-awareness, self-reliance, and self-confidence. These services are offered with respect for others, appreciation of individual differences, and compassion.

Your Counseling Center records are protected by federal and state laws and by professional standards and ethics. Clinical records are completely separate from educational records and cannot be accessed by parents, faculty, staff, administrators or others without your written permission or court order.  Clients and client information may be discussed by staff within the center for treatment, administrative, supervisory, and training purposes.  Please note, there are some situations when all mental health professionals are legally mandated to break confidentiality. 

Release of information outside of the Georgia Southwestern State University Counseling Center requires your written permission with the following EXCEPTIONS:

  • You are considered at immediate risk for harming yourself 
  • You are considered at immediate risk for harming others 
  • Previous or current child abuse
  • Abuse of elderly persons or persons with disabilities
  • A court order

We may be required to disclose your health information to authorized federal officials who are conducting national security and intelligence activities or providing protective services to important officials.  By law, we may be restricted from disclosing to you that information was disclosed to the government (e.g., Patriot Act).

E-mail is not an appropriate medium for engaging in personal counseling and relaying other private information. Thus, e-mail cannot be used to initiate therapeutic conversations. Unfortunately, e-mail is not always confidential and cannot be guaranteed to be an effective or timely means of communication. The Counseling Center does not communicate confidential information by e-mail. E-mail is only used for scheduling purposes. If you are in an urgent situation, it is always best to call the main number for the Counseling Center (229)-931-2676 for assistance, or call 911 in an emergency.

Need to talk to someone?

The center operates on an open door policy. However, appointments are accepted.  Please indicate if the situation is an emergency.  If you are not sure about the appropriateness of a referral, call the center at 229-931-2708 for a consultation.
If you'd like to speak with someone virtually, GSW Talkspace offers students the ability to speak with a medical professional by text, voice or video messages at any time from any device. 
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