Online Counseling for College Students
Get the personalized support of a small campus…
wherever you happen to go.
Adjusting to College
College is full of excitement, possibilities, and new experiences. It’s also a time of stress – as you adjust to a new place, new people, and new things you learn about yourself.
Most students underestimate how difficult that transition will be. Everyone talks about college being the “best time of my life,” and looking around at other students, they seem happier and better adjusted than you. The truth is that most first-year students feel lonely, homesick, and isolated. Even if it seems like you’re the only one who feels like that, you’re not.
It helps to expect an adjustment period. Be patient with yourself and know that difficulty adjusting to college is completely normal.
College Student Mental Health
In The Healthy Minds Study for 2021, 40% of college students said that they had a current or previous mental health diagnosis. And that doesn’t include the students who have yet to be diagnosed.
But mental health is not just about having a diagnosable disorder. As a student, you can experience a range of issues that affect your mental health. These stressors can negatively affect many areas of your life, and sometimes a downward spiral starts before you notice. It can be hard to recover.
2 out of 5 students
have a mental health diagnosis.
64% OF STUDENTS WHO DROPPED OUT OF COLLEGE
said that it was because of mental health reasons.
Some of the reasons college students go to therapy:
They want to feel less...
sad
anxious
angry
stressed
They want to be better at...
communicating
taking tests
making friends
achieving their goals
They question their...
major
sexual orientation
gender identity
religion/spirituality
They are worried about...
a friend
their family
grades
money
They need help...
adjusting to college
dealing with roommates
sleeping
concentrating
They're coping with...
someone’s illness or death
a trauma
problems back home
a break up
Here’s The Good News:
Therapy for College Students Helps!
In fact, nationwide, students who go to counseling do better academically than students who don’t – whether they have a mental health disorder or not.
Counseling can help you cope with temporary stressors (like homesickness or difficult relationships) or recurring stressors (like depression, anxiety, or disordered eating). But counseling is also a place to understand yourself better and explore what you want for your future.
I’m Dr. Jacqueline Belanger.
I’m a Licensed Psychologist, who has specialized in working with college students and graduate students for over 15 years, working on four university campuses. I understand the stressors that you are facing and how everything fits together: your mood, your social life, your classes, your family, your finances, your future decisions, etc.
Through my experience working with hundreds of students, I recognize that effectively supporting college student mental health requires an approach that expand beyond traditional counseling. Many of you struggle navigating the various systems that contribute to your overall wellbeing (e.g. academic, financial, legal, medical, workplace). Oftentimes, you don’t know what resources are available for you or who you would ask to find out.
That’s where I come in. I provide a more holistic approach to mental health: connecting you with helpful resources, guiding you through these various systems, and advocating for you when necessary. One of the great things about telehealth is that I can offer you a small campus level of support, wherever you happen to go to school.
Feeling hesitant about counseling?
I get it. There are a lot of reasons students are hesitant to go to a psychologist.
Maybe you feel like you “should” be able to handle things on your own. And you probably can handle things on your own. To an extent. But at what cost? Counseling can give you the proper tools to make your life better/easier/more efficient. With the proper tools, you can better manage your mental health. You can stop a downward spiral or avoid spiraling in the first place.
Or, you figure that if mental health issues are so common with college students, then it must not be a big deal. It’s true. Mental health issues are very common for college students, but that doesn’t make them any less disruptive to your life.
Maybe you have gone to counseling before, and you had a bad experience. I have talked to many students who went to therapy as a kid, and it was unhelpful or even harmful in some ways. Or maybe you haven’t gone to therapy before, and you are nervous to start. Either way, I assure you that most students are surprised at how “normal” the counseling experience is when they meet with me.
Start with a free phone call.
Schedule a quick phone call to determine if we might be a good fit. You can get a sense of what I’m like, and you can ask about any questions or concerns you have.
In fact, I strongly encourage you to request a short chat with any new potential therapist or psychologist, including me. There are a lot of great clinicians out there, but you deserve one who is a good fit for you. A quick phone call can be a helpful tool in figuring that out without investing any money.
With me or any potential counselor, pay attention to how you feel during and after the call. If something doesn’t feel quite right, it’s okay to look for someone else.
Client Testimonials
We talked through stressors and came up with solutions.
It allowed me to grow and develop after something traumatic.
She’s open to discussing anything and everything.
She took the time to truly listen.
She’s ready to assist with any sort of problem, big or small.
I was skeptical,
but without her counseling, I wouldn’t be here today and my relationship with my loved ones would be completely different.