The UT Counseling Center

Overview

The UT Counseling Center (UTCC), a department within the Division of Student Affairs, is the university's primary facility for personal counseling, psychotherapy, consultation and Outreach. It provides direct service to students and to spouses or partners of students in conjoint therapy. Services are free of charge except for a select group of assessment services.
The University of Tennessee Counseling Center is accredited by the International Association of Counseling Services (IACS).

The Mission of the Counseling Center

The mission of the UT Counseling Center is to promote the psychological, educational and social well-being of the students of The University of Tennessee and to help prepare them to be productive members of society.

Counseling Center Committees

The Counseling Center Committees generate proposals and recommendations that are forwarded to the Executive Committee; in some instances, their role will also involve implementing proposals that have been approved by the Executive Committee. Center committees include: Clinical Committee, Diversity Committee, Outreach, Consultation and Liaison Committee, and Training Committee. Interns are encouraged to join and become active members of a committee.

Services

Staff members provide a variety of services for students, faculty and staff. Approximately 1250 students use these services each year. In a typical year, about 35 percent of them are men and 65 percent are women. About 76 percent are single. About seven percent are African‑American, two percent are Asian, two percent are Hispanic and 70 percent are Caucasian. Utilization of Center services for under represented populations is higher than the University average. Presenting problems range from mild situational stresses to acute psychiatric conditions and long‑term dysfunctions.

Services available to students include walk‑in consultation, crisis intervention, individual, couples and group counseling and psychotherapy, on-line psychoeducational workshops and psychological assessments. The nature, frequency, and duration of psychotherapy are determined on a case by case basis. Short courses offered for credit include Stress Management and Seminar on Personal Relationships.

Referrals

On occasion referrals are made to other agencies both on and off campus. The Center maintains close ties with Student Health Service (SHS), which has seven primary health care physicians, a psychiatrist, a psychiatric clinical nurse specialist and a psychologist. The UTCC enjoys a close relationship with the mental health professionals at SHS who work closely with all staff members, including interns who have clients receiving medication. The psychiatrist and psychiatric clinical nurse specialist also teach a weekly psychopharmacology seminar for interns. Career Services has an extensive career library, computerized career exploration programs, and the computer‑administered Strong Interest Inventory. The Department of Psychology operates the Psychology Clinic, a training clinic on campus for the clinical psychology graduate students. Fees are based on a sliding scale. Both individual and group psychotherapy are available to students and non‑students. Children and couples occasionally are seen.

Recently, a Protocol for helping distressed students was developed as a guide for staff and faculty in helping distressed or distressing students. The Case Management Team was formed and meets on a regular basis to assist students at risk. The team is co-chaired by the Counseling Center and the Office of the Dean of Students. Members of the committee include representatives from Disability Services, Student Health Center, Student Judicial Affairs, UT Police Department and other key offices on campus.

Outreach/Consultation

As an integral part of the developmental and preventive emphasis of the Center, the staff is committed to providing consultation services and outreach to the campus community. Recent or ongoing consultations include the Division of Student Affairs, the Black Cultural Center, Campus Ministers, the Center for International Education, the Counseling Psychology Department, Dining Services, the Office of Equity and Diversity, UT Police Department, the Safety, Environment & Education Center (SEE Center), University Housing, Women’s Athletics, and the Women’s Center. Outreach programming has included participation in the orientation program for new students, First Year Studies classes, fraternity and sorority groups, the annual Health Services Fair, and the QPR Gatekeeper trainings. The Center offers several one-hour credit courses, Stress Management and Personal Relationships.

UTCC Facility

The Counseling Center is located in a large, old, stone mansion originally expanded for the Student Health Service. Occupying two complete floors, the facility includes private offices for all senior staff members, interns and graduate assistants, a reception and waiting room area, a records room, a conference room, a staff lounge, and group rooms. Two group rooms are equipped for video monitoring. Each intern office is equipped with a TV and DVD recorder, an audio recorder, and a personal computer. Interns enjoy having a large window in each office. Plans are underway for the construction of a new Counseling Center facility which will house the Counseling Center and the Student Health Service. Currently, groundbreaking is scheduled for spring of 2009.

The Center is a very pleasant place to work. Staff relations are friendly and informal. This informality is balanced by an atmosphere of serious professional concern for clients, for programs, and for trainees.

Accreditation

The University of Tennessee Counseling Center is accredited by the International Association of Counseling Services (IACS) and is a member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC - for the University of Tennessee Internship Profile,see http://www.appic.org/directory/program_cache/501.html) and the Association of Counseling Center Training Agencies (ACCTA). The Internship Training Program at the UT Counseling Center is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA).