About the Student Counseling Service

The Student Counseling Service is part of the Student Health Service and provides counseling and psychological services to matriculated students in the College of Medicine, Nursing, Health Related Professions, School of Graduate Studies and the MPH program). It is staffed by three licensed clinical psychologists who have years of experience helping students deal with a wide range of personal and academic difficulties.

The Counseling Service is not a part of the administration of SUNY Downstate. All information revealed our counselors is strictly confidential and cannot be shared with another person without the student's consent.

The Student Counseling Service has been established to help students deal with academically related stress as well as with any other personal concerns that can interfere with their performance in school. Some of these issues include anxiety and fear, depression, low self-esteem, interpersonal difficulties, family problems, and habit control problems (e.g. overeating, alcoholism, and drug abuse). It is common for those engaged in graduate studies to experience the need for support, feedback, and guidance in managing the burdens of academic goals, coping with stress, and in creating and maintaining meaningful relationships in their lives. We know that seeking support of any kind can often be a challenge, and we encourage you to contact the Student Counseling Service if you have any questions, would like to discuss if counseling is right for you, or to set up an initial meeting. In an effort to accommodate the varied needs of students, we provide the following services:

Initial evaluation and screening: The first few sessions are devoted to assessing the nature of your concerns and to determining the best method of addressing them.
On-site individual counseling: Short term counseling lasting from 8–12 weeks is provided for specific and situational problems.
Groups: Groups geared to address specific problems such as stress management and relaxation, assertiveness training, coping skills, and other topics are conducted regularly.
Education services: Seminars, lectures, guest speakers, films and videos on topics in mental health are occasionally offered to provide information and encourage prevention of emotional problems.
Referrals: Some concerns are best addressed through a referral to an outside facility. Some examples of these are long term psychotherapy, psychiatric follow-up with medication and marital and couples therapy (if one of the spouses is not a student).