Information for Parents

All currently enrolled, full-time students at the University of West Georgia are eligible for free counseling services in the Counseling & Career Development Center. Our counselors work with students on managing personal, career and educational concerns that may interfere with their academic progress. Our staff is full-time doctoral level counselors, full-time and part-time specialist and masters level counselors, counseling interns, as well as support personnel (Meet Our Staff). All of the Counseling & Career Development staff are committed to providing effective services and promoting the personal growth of students.

We are able to consider the needs of the student, and offer a variety of services to encourage growth. These include:

Academic Counseling

Many students come to college needing to strengthen their academic skills, such as time management, note taking, reading textbooks, and test taking. Some can't do as well as they'd like because anxiety interferes with their performance on tests or classroom presentations. Counselors are experienced in helping students understand the source of the problem, and coming up with more effective approaches in the classroom.

Career Counseling

In the Counseling & Career Development Center we offer career inventories to help students learn about their interests, skills, and values. Students work with licensed counselors to explore all of the issues that go into making excellent career decisions, such as merging of values and life roles. We coordinate career counseling with the Career Services office where students can combine information about themselves with information about the world of work.

Personal Counseling

The Counseling & Career Development Center provides individual counseling for all personal concerns. Counselors are experienced in working with college students of all ages and backgrounds, and are appropriately trained and credentialed. Georgia law generally protects the confidentiality of information discussed in psychotherapy, but the Center considers all contacts to be private.

Online Counseling

Online counseling allows students to work on all of the same areas of concern that they would work on in face to face counseling, but the counseling takes place via online video conferencing. While the counselor will still be located at Counseling & Career Development, the client may be at home or another location miles away from campus.

Group Counseling

Group counseling involves a small group of people (usually 6-10) who meet together weekly, along with one or two trained members of the Counseling & Career Development Center staff, to talk about their struggles and problems. These groups can take a variety of forms. Some focus on a specific topic or problem, while others address a number of different concerns.

Consultation and Referral

Counselors regularly consult with faculty, staff, parents, friends, medical professionals and others who have concerns about students. While legal and ethical requirements prevent us from revealing information shared during counseling, we can discuss how we typically handle various situations. If you have concerns about your student, we're happy to talk with you about those and suggest options. We work closely with Student Health Services to coordinate care for students with psychological issues.

Disability Services

Students with a documented disability may work with the Office of Disability Services to receive essential services specific to their disability. Disabilities may be temporary or permanent and are categorized into three areas; physical, psychological and learning disorders.

Substance Abuse Counseling

Substance Abuse Counseling at UWG’s Counseling & Career Development Center is a free and confidential service offered to enrolled students. Alcohol and other drug addiction is a chronic illness, characterized by a strong and persistent desire for a substance of choice and loss of control over its use, even in the face of harsh consequences. Addiction is not cured, but it can be controlled, and people do recover and lead productive lives.

Emergencies

If we are notified that a student is potentially at risk to self or others, a licensed counselor from the Counseling & Career Development Center or Student Health Services will complete an emergency assessment. While we try to honor the student's wishes whenever possible, we will contact parents, guardians, or other family members regardless of the student's preference, if we believe that doing so is necessary to prevent harm.

Specific emergency information and resources are available at: http://www.westga.edu/UWGCares

Information of mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, substance use, and suicidal thoughts is available at Prevent UWG.
If you believe that your student could benefit from counseling, encourage he or she to contact the Counseling & Career Development Center.

Click here for appointment information