Doctoral and master’s students in counseling psychology, community counseling, nursing and pharmacy programs provide care for the center’s clients who seek help with various psychological concerns. The center is an outreach initiative of the College of Education’s department of counseling and human development services.
“Our mission has been to serve those who don’t have other means,” said Center Director Linda Campbell, a professor of counseling psychology. “It really gives students a chance to work with different types and levels of development.” Campbell, a licensed psychologist and former president of the American Psychologist Association’s Division of State and Provincial Psychological Association Affairs and the Division of Psychotherapy, teaches graduate courses in counseling. She is also currently president of the Georgia State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, the unit which grants licenses to practice psychology in Georgia. The supervising faculty members who work with the more than 30 students at the center use the opportunity to reach out to the Athens-Clarke County community. The counselors are able to offer on-site services at no cost to women’s shelters, homeless shelters and Hope Haven, a nonprofit corporation that provides support for individuals with developmental disabilities. The outreach efforts promote greater mental health among people who otherwise could not afford it, while providing students with a broad learning experience in psychological evaluation and counseling. The clinic also provides services to some university students and out-of-town clients. “We can see clients for whatever their presenting concerns are for as long as we think it’s helpful,” she said. “We think it’s a win-win.” The center operates throughout the year and can accommodate preschoolers and septuagenarians alike. COUNSELING CENTER AT-A-GLANCE Founded: 1977 Home department: Counseling and Human Development Services Location: 424 Aderhold Hall Director: Linda Campbell, professor Brief description:The clinic offers counseling services for individuals, couples, families and groups to help clients deal with depression, anxiety, grief and loss, marital issues, parenting and other concerns. The center provides a wide array of psychological testing, including assessments for mental health status, attention deficit disorder, giftedness, learning disabilities and social or emotional problems at home or school. Help with career planning, stress management and job satisfaction is also available. The center is open to individuals and families throughout northeast Georgia and charges for counseling services on an income-based sliding fee scale. Number of students involved: 37 Number of faculty involved: 5-7 fully credentialed supervisors Number of clients seen annually: 280 Web: www.coe.uga.edu/chds/counseling/ Phone: 706/542-8508 Hours of counseling provided per year: 3,000 House rule at the center: “The only rule here is if you sing, you have to sing off-key.” OTHER COE CENTERS SERVING GEORGIA Academic Computing Center About 50 clients each year visit the 26-year-old ACC, where graduate students perform data analysis and interpretation for students and faculty which is important to their research. It also provides clients with program software needed to perform data analysis. Web: www.coe.uga.edu/acc/ Phone: 706/542-5230 Center for Economic Education The 31-year-old collaboration with the Terry College of Business works with teachers throughout Georgia to provide in-service training, develop instructional materials and encourage innovation in economics education. Web: N/A Phone: 706/542-3970 Curriculum Materials Center The CML serves the specialized K-12 curriculum needs of the College of Education. Librarian Carla Buss maintains the center, which allows students, faculty and staff to access and sign out materials. Web: www.coe.uga.edu/cml/ Phone: 706/542-2957 Educational Technology Training Center One of 13 such centers across Georgia which work to provide professional learning, consulting and service to Georgia educators in promoting the use of technology in teaching, learning and leadership. Web: ttc.coe.uga.edu/ Phone: 706/542-0240 Education Policy and Evaluation Center Supports research on policy and evaluation that improves education, provides evaluation expertise to assess education programs, expands knowledge of policy options and distributes research findings related to education policy issues. Web: www.coe.uga.edu/EPEC/ Phone: 706/542-4107 Georgia Center for Assessment Provides local school districts with supplementary and predictor tests to help schools prepare students for Georgia writing assessments, the kindergarten assessment test and the high school graduation test. The center also provides research and measurement services. Web: www.coe.uga.edu/gca/ Phone: (706) 542-5231 Torrance Center for Creativity & Talent Development Founded in 1985 in honor of the late professor emeritus E. Paul Torrance, who was known as the Father of Creativity for his pioneering work in identifying and developing students’ creative potential, the center works with more than 600 clients around the world each year. Web: www.coe.uga.edu/torrance/ Phone: 706/542-4248 Teacher Quality Higher Education Program Supports teacher quality improvement initiatives to enhance the teaching of science, mathematics, language arts, reading and social studies at the elementary, middle and high school levels in Georgia schools. Web:www.coe.uga.edu/teacherquality/ Phone: 706/542-4640 The BRIDGE (Building Resources: Induction and Development for Georgia Educators) A Website launched in 2004 as an online resource for teachers to find the latest research on best practices and communicate with university faculty, mentor teachers and colleagues. Web: www.teachersbridge.org. Phone: 706/542-5744 Partnership for Reform in Science and Mathematics (PRISM) Statewide initiative that works to improve Georgia students’ achievement in science and math by providing challenging curricula, increasing the number of qualified science and math educators and improving higher education institutions’ responsiveness to schools’ needs. Web: www.coe.uga.edu/prism/ Phone: 706/542-1697 Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education (CLASE) Provides mentoring and tutoring for Latino students, offers professional development resources for teachers working with Latino students and researches ways to reduce the achievement gap for Latino children, especially in Georgia. Web: www.coe.uga.edu/clase/ Phone: 706/583-5561 Center for Proficiency in Teaching Mathematics (CPTM) Develops ideas, examples, teaching plans and materials to improve pre-service teachers’ learning opportunities and mathematics proficiency, and contributes to building the capacity for the education of mathematics teachers. Web: www.cptm.us/ Phone: 706/542-4194
Catharin Shepard is a College of Education graduate assistant and a master's student in journalism. |
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