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The NDSU Counseling Center offers individual, group and couples counseling and is a confidential setting for students to explore personal or academic concerns.

Whether they need someone to talk to or simply a place to relax, NDSU students can turn to the welcoming NDSU Counseling Center.

The center is a confidential setting where students explore concerns of a personal or academic nature. The center offers individual, group and couples counseling and the professional staff also makes referrals, if needed.

“Counseling can help remove barriers that keep students from being successful academically and throughout life,” said Bill Burns, NDSU Counseling Center director, noting the services are free to students. “Counseling can help students improve communication and interpersonal skills, change self-defeating behaviors/habits, build stronger relationships, deal with trauma and learn to better understand and manage emotions.”

Beyond counseling, the center offers a variety of services to help students deal with the daily stress of life. They include the center’s new Relaxation/Reflection Room, Art in Therapy, Pawsitive Relaxation and DeStress in the Dirt. The center also has lights for treating Seasonal Affective Disorder that students can check out and use.

Students can use the Relaxation/Reflection Room to decompress in a massage chair or oversized bean bag, while listening to relaxing music and watching relaxing videos in a softly lit room. Sensory items like kinetic sand, a Zen Garden, fidget toys and a water feature enrich the experience.

Art in Therapy is designed for discovery and self-reflection through expressive art projects. The social interaction also can help students meet and build new relationships with others in the group.

Pawsitive Relaxation gives students a chance to hang out with one of the center’s therapy dogs, while DeStress in the Dirt is a program where students can shed stress by making a flowering planter.

“As a student-focused, land-grant university, NDSU cares about its students’ mental health; we know that students who are healthy both physically and emotionally have a much greater chance at success in life,” Burns said. “The NDSU Counseling Center is a safe and supportive environment where students can grow and learn in order to better achieve their academic and life goals.”

NDSU Counseling Center is accredited by International Association of Counseling Services Inc.

Original source can be found here.