About the Counseling Center

What is counseling?
Where are we located?
What services do we offer?
What are our hours?
Who are the staff members?
How do you contact us?
How does the counseling process work?
Is it confidential?
In case of emergency?

On-line Resources

A Guide to the Counseling Experience
Faculty and Staff Referral Guide
Managing Anniversary Reactions to Traumatic Events
Coping After a Crisis
Joining A Group at the Counseling Center
Learning Styles and How to Maximize Your Success in School
On Relationships
Transitions
About Alcohol and Other Drugs
How Many Drinks Will You Have This Year?
Go Ask Alice!: Health Q&A Service
Click here for other topics of interest to college students

Westchester Center's Library

SURVIVOR: Pace University
THINKING OF DROPPING OUT?  Don't Drop Out, Drop In 
SPOTLIGHT on Eating Problems
    SPOTLIGHT on Going To Extremes: Identifying and Overcoming Addictions  
SPOTLIGHT on Positive Psychology 
Other Voices: Spotlight on LGBT Student Issues
**NEW** SPOTLIGHT on Money **NEW**


Westchester Center's Links
**NEW**
Managing Your Anxiety about H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu)
How To Help A Grieving Friend
Composing Letters and Notes of Condolence

Follow us on Twitter and find us on Facebook

 

Training Opportunities At The Centers

What Is Counseling?

Counseling is a process that helps people work out personal, academic, or vocational problems. The professional staff at the Counseling Center at Pace University is available to assist students, staff, and faculty in the resolution of these problems. Through this process, people often gain increased awareness, independence, and effectiveness in the pursuit of personal goals. These services are available free of charge to members of the Pace community.

  Where Are We Located?

New York City Campus: 156 William Street, 12th Floor

Westchester Campuses: Administration Center, 2nd Floor (Pleasantville)
White Plains- by appointment only

What Services Do We Offer?

        Services include:

• Personal Counseling (Individual and Group)
  
• Educational Counseling
  
• Vocational Counseling
  
• Alcohol and Other Drug Assessments and Counseling
  
• Resources and Support Services for Students with Disabilities
  
• Workshops and Other Programs
  
• Psychological Testing
  
• Referrals to Community and Other Programs
  

Personal Counseling

The Counseling Center Staff is available to discuss any personal or emotional difficulties in complete confidentiality. Services include individual and group counseling and range from counseling for personal and professional problems to crisis intervention. The concerns that students discuss with us include relationship and family issues, roommate problems, drug or alcohol use, self-esteem, and problems with eating, to name a few.

Educational Counseling

Educational counseling helps people strengthen skills needed to succeed in the classroom. Counseling Center staff offer expertise in the areas of study skills, time-management, test-taking strategies and stress-management techniques.

Vocational Counseling

Vocational Counseling can help people appraise their interests, attitudes, and personality traits. The Counseling Center staff frequently use tests to reveal these characteristics. By gaining self awareness, people become better equipped to make decisions vital to their educational and professional future. This may include decisions about what major or future career to choose.

Resources and Support Services for Students with Disabilities

Beginning an undergraduate or graduate career is an exciting experience. If you are a student with a disability, this experience can be especially challenging. Pace University has resources and procedures to ensure that disabled students have full access to its quality education programs and facilities.To learn more about these resources click on the link to the left or call:

Westchester: (914) 773-3710

New York City: (212) 346-1526

Workshops and Other Programs

The Counseling Center is happy to assist the individuals and groups within the University community who are working to promote the personal, social, and intellectual development of students. In the past, interested student groups, personnel, sororities and fraternities, academic departments and instructors, and other groups have requested that we conduct programs, workshops, and presentations related to career and educational decision-making, improving academic effectiveness, and personal and social issues. Some example of these topics are:

• Understanding stress and its management
  
• Eating disorders
  
• Testing tips
  
• How to get accomodations for disabilities
  
• Suicide: facts and fables
  
• Adult children of alcoholic parents
  
• Protecting yourself: date rape and safety issues
  
• Alcohol/drug awareness
• What is your personality type
  
• Assertiveness training
  
• Study skills
  
• Self hypnosis for stress management
  
• Test anxiety management
  
• Career interest testing
  
• Building self esteem
  
• Time management

Our workshops and presentations typically require a one to two-hour time slot, though some topics require more time than this. The topics above may need to be modified or narrowed to fit certain time frames and special situations or interests.

Your Own Ideas. The programs and workshops listed here are intended to give you an idea of the types of services we have provided in the past. Our staff is available to design programs on other topics to meet your specific needs and concerns. We will also help individuals and groups in the development and implementation of their own programs.

Bringing Our Programs To You. Requests for programs, special topic presentations, workshops, and consultations can be made to any Counseling Services staff member. If you are interested in a program, please stop in, call, or e-mail us:

Psychological Testing

Psychological and educational testing is available to students in addition to counseling. Testing may provide insight about individual and personality styles.

If you are concerned that a learning disability may be interfering with your academic success, we can provide you with a referral to an outside practitioner or agency for evaluation. Pace University does not offer learning disability assessments. If you have further questions about disability issues, go to Resources and Support Services for Students with Disabilities.

Referrals to Community and Other Programs

When students are evaluated at the Counseling Services, it is sometimes felt that they would benefit most from referral to resources in the community. This referral may be to a more specialized program at a hospital or clinic or to a therapist in private practice. Our referral list is extensive and offers students a wide range of services which are of high quality and affordable.

Once a student has been referred to an outside resource, we suggest that they reconnect with the Counseling Services once they have contacted the referral. At that time, we encourage students to provide us with feedback about their experience. If the referral does not seem to be a good fit, then we will be more than happy to meet with the student again to provide them with more resources.

What Are Our Hours?

Westchester Campuses:

Pleasantville: 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., Monday through Friday. Evening hours by appointment.

White Plains: Hours available by appointment only.

Walk In Clinic (WIC), no appointment needed: Scheduled daily during the academic year from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. in Pleasantville. This time can be used for initial meetings or same day emergencies. WIC provides access to a staff member for up to a half-hour initial meeting. Follow up meetings can then be arranged. In addition, faculty, staff or students who request telephone access to a staff member can also be scheduled for phone time with a professional during WIC times. Availability may be limited and calls are taken on a first come, first serve basis.

New York City Campus:

9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., Monday through Friday. Evening hours by appointment.

Who Are The Staff Members?

New York City Campus
Westchester Campuses

How Do You Contact Us?

Please call us or visit our office to make an appointment.

The staff at the Counseling Center welcomes your contact. We also value your privacy and therefore offer you the following information to help you decide on the best method for reaching us.

Email Policy

If you are looking for online counseling or advice, unfortunately, email is not the appropriate medium for personal counseling. Therefore, we do not offer on line counseling. Do not use e-mail for emergency notification to the Counseling Centers. Use the telephone information at the bottom of this page for emergency contacts when the Counseling Center is closed.

Email confidentiality:
Confidentiality cannot be guaranteed on electronic mail. If you are concerned that your email or its reply may be read by someone other than you or the person you are contacting, please consider alternative ways of contacting us.

How Does The Counseling Process Work?

Scheduling an appointment: Upon request, you will be given an appointment within a reasonable time period. If you need to see someone sooner, please inform us and we will do our best to meet your needs.

Initial Consultation and Evaluation: Your initial appointment(s) with a staff member are for the purposes of understanding and discussing the concerns that brought you in to the Counseling Center. Following this appointment, our recommendations to you may include: additional counseling sessions at the Counseling Center, referral to a Counseling Center group, or referral to a community agency, private practitioner, or consulting psychiatrist. These recommendations are based on your needs, as well as the availability of our staff. The staff member you see for ongoing sessions may not be the same person who met with you for your initial appointment.

Cancellations: If you are unable to keep an appointment, we ask that you give us 24 hours notice and we will reschedule your appointment. If you do not notify us and do not keep your appointments, we may not be able to see you here. However, you will have an opportunity to speak to a staff member who can provide you with an appropriate referral.

Is it confidential?

The Counseling Center’s policy on confidentiality is in accordance with the ethical standards of the American Psychological Association. All information shared with a staff member and all written materials remain confidential unless you authorize, in writing, that information be communicated to specific others. The staff member, however, may disclose information deemed necessary to protect you or others from imminent physical danger, in cases where child abuse is evident, or upon court order.

In case of an emergency when the counseling center is closed:

Westchester students may contact a 24-hour crisis hotline at (914) 347-6400.
New York City students may contact St. Vincent’s Hospital at (212) 604-7000.