Counseling Center Services

The MSU Counseling Center is the primary provider of mental health services on campus for students. The psychological services are confidential and short-term. Services may address personal, career, and academic learning issues. We conduct in person and virtual appointments.

Consultation with a provider about students of concern is available to University faculty, staff, and parents. The mental health providers are licensed or licensed eligible and from different disciplines such as clinical or counseling psychology, social work and/or professional counseling.

Getting Started

Eligibility of Services: Currently registered students of MSU are eligible for short-term, individual, group or couples counseling. Session time may vary based on the type of session. Individual and couple counseling sessions average 8 per year. There is no limit to group sessions.

What to Expect

A student's first full session at the Counseling Center is called an intake session. Prior to your meeting with a provider, you will be asked to complete forms with your contact information, sign forms about confidentiality and review your rights and responsibilities in counseling. It is recommended that you arrive about 20 minutes early to complete documentation.

During your meeting with the provider, you will have a chance to describe why you are seeking counseling. The provider will ask for information about your present situation, your family background, general health information, self-care, and important relationships in your life.

The goal of this meeting is to determine the nature and impact of the presenting concern and discuss options for addressing this concern. At the end of the intake session, you and the provider will have identified some of the issues you want to work on and will consider a few options:

to make another appointment with the same provider to talk further, if needed
to refer you to a counseling group, workshop, or another provider in the center
to refer you to an off-campus clinician who specializes in the issues that concern you
to refer you to another office on campus that might be useful to you
to refer you off campus for other needs, such as a psychiatric evaluation or medication

Consultations for Faculty, Staff and Parents

Consultations involve talking with a provider about an issue, perhaps you are worried about a friend or have a question about your own mental health. We offer consultation services for staff and faculty. Consultation can address issues such as referring students to services, outreach programming, or a mental health concern.

We are also available to consult with parents and family members about general information about our services, information about referring their student to us, and for guidance on how best to support their student.

Couples Counseling

In couples counseling, providers help partners - married or not married -build healthier relationships by exploring their needs and improving how they communicate. Short-term couples counseling is available at the counseling center. One person in the relationship must be a registered Morgan student.

Crisis Response

A mental health emergency or crisis can be any situation in which a person is at risk of hurting themselves or others, has psychosis, engaging in self-jurious behaviors and/or prevents them from being able to care for themselves or function effectively. If you are experiencing a mental health emergency or crisis, there are several options:

During business hours, a provider is always available for consultation and assistance with an emergency. The goal is to provide immediate care and work to form a plan to get you through this difficult time.

After hours, you may also contact Campus Safety at 443-885-3103 or you may contact your primary care provider, or one of the agencies listed below and on our Crisis Hotlines web page for crisis intervention and next steps.

Critical Incident Response

In an event of an emergency or crisis on campus, the Counseling Center staff are available to provide support and guidance to the campus community. Examples include: student exhibiting mental health crisis, deaths, including suicides and natural causes, sexual assault, violence on campus, natural disasters and on campus shootings.

Faculty and Staff may contact the Counseling Center to consult about options in responding to the event. If it is after hours, please contact Campus Safety at 443-885-3103.

Group Counseling

Groups provide a safe and supportive environment in which you can learn new behaviors, improve communication skills, and receive feedback from other students with similar concerns, experiences, and interests. One of the most valuable aspects of participating in a group is learning that you are not alone. We offer different groups each semester. Each group that is offered is facilitated by one of our licensed providers.

Group counseling may be used as an alternative to individual counseling or may be used in addition to individual counseling as a supplement to address specific needs. Many groups are designed to target a specific problem, such as social anxiety, depression, grief and loss, or substance abuse. Other groups focus more generally on skill building and self-growth such as social skills, self-esteem, loneliness, anger, etc.

Individual Psychological Counseling

Individual counseling is available to ANY currently registered student. Individual sessions are short term sessions that may address a wide range of issues including but not limited to depression, anxiety, relational concerns, self-esteem, stress, traumatic experiences, eating or sleeping disturbances. A student can choose to have virtual appointments after their initial intake appointment. When a student’s concern requires more specialized or long term care, a referral is given to an off campus provider.

Outreach Programming

In addition to clinical services, the Counseling Centers offers campus community outreach and preventive education to reduce stigma, to improve an understanding of behavioral health and to increase knowledge of effective interventions.

Any student organization, academic departments, or faculty may request a workshop on Counseling Center services or any topic related to mental health.

Referral to Off Campus Providers

Services of the Counseling Center are short term. However, if a student is in need of long term care, our providers will support and share resources from our off campus provider network. We will attempt to assist the student to make the connection or transition to long term service.