Office Spotlight

Counseling Services: Helping Students Cope with the Calamity of Life
By Russell Guerrero

Gary Neal	Gavin Steiger
Kristen Eisenhauer	Richard Reams

With apologies to Carol King and James Taylor, Counseling Services is the office students turn to when they are down and troubled and need a helping hand.

Gary Neal directs the office, and he his staff, which includes Richard Reams and Kristen Eisenhauer, are all licensed psychologists who help students going through difficult times.   

“We help students learn to cope and adjust to everything from loneliness and homesickness to boyfriend/girlfriend problems and their changing relationship with mom and dad, up to serious mental health problems,” Gary says.  

During a typical academic year, Counseling Services will see about 10 percent of the student body for individual counseling. Although the office has no limit on the amount of counseling sessions a student can have, most will make three office visits or less. 

Students who are in need of more help, such as those with an eating disorder, are referred to professionals off campus.

What is important to Gary and the rest of the counseling staff is to be there when needed.  The office has walk-in hours during weekday afternoons and almost half of the students see a counselor during that time.

Gary, Richard, and Kristen also take turns being on call for a week at a time in case they are needed at night or on the weekend.

In addition to helping students through rough patches in their lives, the Counseling Services office is in charge of helping students with disabilities.  This year, Gavin Steiger joined the office as the coordinator of disability services. “When we talk about disability services, we are talking about leveling the playing field so that students with a disability are on an equal footing with all other students,” says Gary.

Most of the students with disabilities blend into campus life well enough to become almost invisible.  Two of the most common challenges they deal with are learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder.  Other students may have chronic health issues and some may have psychiatric or psychological problems. A small number may have more visible disabilities such as using a wheelchair or motorized cart or relying on a guide dog.

Gavin works with faculty to set up appropriate accommodations, such as more time for test taking or securing textbooks on audiotape.

This year, Gary will mark his 25^th year at Trinity and he’s been happy to help students when they need it.  “As a psychologist, it’s a great place to work because the students are bright, verbal, and fun to work with.”