College Mental Health Counseling
Adjusting to college is not always easy. From the outside, people see increased independence, making friendships, attending parties, having fun, etc. For some, this creates worry, homesickness, social anxiety, and trouble juggling school work with social life. High schools tend to be a more structured and supportive environment with smaller class sizes and teachers who follow up when you're falling behind or need help. Some colleges may have small class sizes too, but the majority of larger universities have far less support. At Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, some lecture halls hold 400 students! Class schedules differ day to day and professors may not be as involved in making sure you attend class or do your assignments.
Stress is not unique to college freshmen adjusting to college life for the first time. Each year brings its own set of challenges or stressors. Students often express concern about picking the "right" major or career field, taking harder courses, finding internships, or preparing for the transition from college student to working adult.
Below are just a few of the many concerns students have when transitioning from late adolescence to young adulthood. Fill out the Contact Me form to learn more about these challenges and how counseling can help.
Managing anxiety:
As a new college student, one may find themselves confronted with new pressures and difficulty navigating college life. Pressures may increase as students are challenged in their academics, friendships, romantic relationships, and other areas of life. Therapy will assist students with identifying healthy skills to reduce anxiety and increase feelings of satisfaction with their college experience.
Adjustment to college life:
Many college students experience difficulties adjusting to a new lifestyle upon entering college. Students might find themselves having trouble getting to classes on time, making new friends, feeling overwhelmed, difficulty sleeping, and missing their previous home life. Our therapy sessions will focus on developing tools to increase self-confidence, expand problem solving strategies, and provide emotional support while adjusting to college life.
Setting realistic expectations:
College students often struggle to set realistic expectations for themselves in areas such as academics, social life, romantic relationships, budgeting, and physical health just to name a few. As a result of the development of often unachievable expectations, students often feel like failures and develop a low self-esteem. Utilizing therapeutic techniques learned in therapy sessions students will identify methods to increase awareness regarding the difficulty they have managing expectations and develop skills to set achievable goals thus improving their self-esteem and overall mental health.
Homesickness:
Adjusting to a new environment upon entering college can be difficult to manage. Students often feel sad, lonely, unfocused, and lacking in emotional support. As a result of these feelings, students might experience difficulty maintaining their grades, avoid social situations, and feel overwhelmed, depressed, and anxious. With guidance during therapy, students will learn how to increase their independence in their new environment while building confidence. Therapy will provide students with emotional support as they learn how to build healthy coping skills to address feelings of anxiety and reduce feelings of depression.
Managing stress:
Stress is a common concern reported by college students. Stressors often affect all areas of life including academics, social life, work, and relationships. Various factors can contribute to increased stress and at times it feels as though the stress is unmanageable. Via solution-focused strategies, relaxation techniques, and cognitive restructuring (a method of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), therapy will assist students with reducing feelings of stress and increase feelings of hopefulness regarding their ability to manage the difficulties in life.
Adjustment to life after college and finding a career:
It is often overwhelming for students to consider their futures post graduation. Students often question their identity and ability to adapt to a new lifestyle. Feelings of anxiety, depression, and isolation are often reported when transitioning to life after college. Therapy will provide students with emotional support during this transition while developing strategies to increase confidence in decision making, building self-confidence, and utilizing relaxation techniques.
I am a Welltrack Connect listed provider. Welltrack Connect partners with various universities to connect college students and emerging young adults with providers who specialize in that population. By providing telehealth, I am able to provide counseling to college students at many different colleges and universities in New Jersey. Examples of Welltrack Connect participating universities include Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Seton Hall University, and Stevens Institute of New Jersey. College counseling centers often have long wait lists or provide only short-term individual or group therapy. These counseling centers often partner with community therapists like myself to provide individual therapy to students who need counseling beyond what their CAPS program can offer.