Kurejea Guthrie
Personal counseling, a program available in the campus Help Center provides short and long term counseling to students who need help dealing with personal problems that may be affecting their school work or personal lives.
The service is always free and confidential. Another aspect of the program is that when there is a need for further assistance then the counselors on campus can refer the student to a specialist or psychologist.
The average timeframe a student can meet with one of the counselors is four to six weeks.
Program director, Eileen Sheff, a licensed marriage and family therapist, who also has a M.A. in clinical psychology from California State University of Long Beach and has been here at Pierce since 1979.
“We are here mainly to help students who’s personal and psychological problems are interfering with their school success and functioning outside of the school,” said Sheff. “We try to help them to find the resources within themselves to cope with their issues.”
According to Sheff, the most common issues affecting Pierce students are stress related.
Stress related to work, school, family and financial problems. Other problems affecting students are test anxiety, drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, sexual and physical abuse, sexual identity and in some cases even suicide.
Sheff said, “Most of the time a crisis will subside within six weeks or so.” Of course if it doesn’t that is when further assistance is needed.
Leslee Cook, is another counselor part of the program and is also a marriage and family therapist, who received her B.A. in psychology and her M.A. in educational psychology from California State Northridge who has been at Pierce since 1978.
Cook explained, ” The program gives them [the students] strategies to help them to cope with the situation and get in touch with and release some of those pent up feelings,”
She is also a firm believer in the effectiveness of utilizing relaxation techniques and stress reduction to help with some of the issues those students are dealing with.
For example, using relaxation techniques can help with the common problem of test anxiety.
“When someone learns to relax, it can relieve the anxiety from taking the test and help the student focus better,” said Cook.
Both Sheff and Cook suggested the students should consider taking Psychology 60 since stress is the most common problem.
It is a course taught by Dr. Jeffery Cohen and is given in fall and spring.
The course is stress management and it teaches relaxation techniques. “If people are willing to make the commitment to the course and learn, they will notice that it will help them handle their stress better,” Cohen said.
Students interested in making an appointment with a counselor can go to the Help Center, located in the Administration building room 1002.
Students can also call either (818) 710-4175 or (818) 719-6440 Monday through Friday.