Your counselor will work with you so that the process can easily proceed with someone else, whether at the Counseling Service or in the Poughkeepsie community. The experience of counseling varies depending on the counselor, the client, and the particular concerns that the client brings. There are a number of different approaches that may be used to address your concerns. In general, the process involves you speaking about your issues openly and honestly, while your counselor listens, asks you questions, and works with you to address your concerns. You should expect to be able to discuss with your counselor any issue you have, whether about the problems you bring or about the process of counseling itself.
Counseling has both benefits and risks.
Risks sometimes include experiencing uncomfortable feelings like sadness, guilt, anxiety, anger, frustration, loneliness, and helplessness. Counseling may involve recalling unpleasant aspects of your personal history. In addition, counseling may result in your choosing to make changes in your current relationships. Although there are no guaranteed outcomes, most students who use our services find that the benefits outweigh the risks. In one or two sessions, your counselor should be able to offer you some initial impressions of what the work will include and what the process will be.