Counseling is the process of working with a mental health professional to address your problems or concerns. The mental health professional listens with an objective ear and helps you learn more about yourself and new ways of looking at situations. This process can help you feel more capable of identifying and solving problems on your own. The primary goal is to help you develop the skills and abilities to solve problems as they arise in order to make the most of your academic experience.
Many students decide to pursue counseling. It does not mean you aren’t “normal.” It is not a sign of weakness but of strength – if you initiate counseling, it is evidence that you are taking charge of your own well-being.
Some common reasons for seeing a staff therapist include relationship problems, depression, anxiety, academic worries, and family difficulties. You may benefit from two or three sessions to address a specific area of concern, or you may find it helpful to use more sessions to address concerns that warrant more attention. Our services are focused on short-term counseling but referrals are often made for students who wish to consider longer-term counseling or psychotherapy.
Your counselor is a licensed mental health professional who has been trained to help you identify and begin to resolve the issues and problems that are of concern to you. It is perfectly common and understandable to have some anxiety about seeing a counselor – your counselor will establish a safe and structured environment in which you can feel comfortable discussing your thoughts and feelings. The approach is non-judgmental and collaborative.
It can be hard to start therapy again, especially, if you previously sought help and it was not a good experience. There can be numerous reasons for why counseling did not go well before, including, but not limited to, you did not have the outcome you had hoped for, it was difficult to express your feelings, or it was not a good fit with the therapist.
At the Counseling Center we know that a good fit with the counselor is of the utmost importance. If you came to therapy here in the past and it wasn’t a good fit, please let us know what feedback you have about that previous experience and what you are looking for this time with us.
The Counseling Center is happy to talk to you about your experience and welcomes your feedback, so if you feel that a previous experience with counseling/therapy was dissatisfactory, we encourage you to let us know and give counseling another try by reaching out to us at therapy@pratt.edu.
After your consultation, you may be seen for short-term individual psychotherapy or creative arts therapy, provided with a referral for longer-term or specialized services, or referred to one of the Counseling Center’s groups.
Individual psychotherapy is also known as talk therapy. It is administered by trained professionals– including psychologists, social workers, licensed counselors, or psychiatrist, and entails collaborating with one’s provider to examine and gain insight into challenges, while improving your life.
Creative arts therapy combines psychotherapy with creative expression to aid you in healing, personal growth, and self-discovery. It is administered by mental health professionals who are trained as creative arts therapists (CATs).
Group therapy is a confidential space to grow alongside your peers, and to increase understanding of yourself and others. It usually involves one or more counselors who lead a group of 3-8 students. Typically, students meet for an hour or an hour and a half each week. Groups are sometimes designed to target a specific issue, like depression, anxiety, grief, or substance abuse. Other groups might focus more generally on improving social skills or distress tolerance, navigating one’s sexuality and gender, or helping students deal with anger, shyness, loneliness, stressors related to body image, or low confidence. Check out our Groups page for more information.
If individual short-term psychotherapy at the Counseling Center is recommended, students typically attend either weekly or biweekly sessions (a collaborative decision with you and the Counseling Center clinician will be made). The length of short term therapy depends on each student and their needs. National research shows that students get what they need in approximately 5 sessions. Therapy groups run throughout the year, and there is no cap in how many group sessions students may attend.
You may find that you need more than short term therapy. If that is the case, we will work with you to get connected to an off campus provider to address your mental health needs.
We do not provide psychoeducational testing or a diagnosis for ADHD at the Counseling Center, but we do have an extensive referral list for psychoeducational testing services. Please email therapy@pratt.edu to schedule a consultation or for an updated list of testing referrals.
To request an ESA, you can request to enroll a support animal as an accommodation with the Learning Access Center (L/AC). Here’s a link to Pratt’s policy on ESAs, with the dates you would need to request that accommodation from the L/AC. After you enroll with the L/AC, a mental health provider who knows you well can fill out the ESA Request Form. Note: ESA requests are not guaranteed, and are approved on a case-by-case basis.
All conversations that occur between you and your therapist in the Counseling Center are confidential and private. By law, your privacy is protected. If you are having difficulty with your use of alcohol or drugs, you can speak safely with one of us. The information will not go on your academic record, and we do not share information with other departments in the school. We can help you explore your use in a non-confrontational and non-judgemental manner, and you decide what you would like to do next.
Q: If I find myself having a difficult time (ex: not going to classes, not socializing etc) what can I do?
A: Sometimes students encounter mental health stressors that make it difficult to do daily tasks, go to class, or connect with their friends.
If you find that is happening to you, please call us or drop in for an appointment so we can explore what are the available resources both within and outside of the center as well as resources at Pratt Institute to support you during this time.
A psychiatric emergency involves a student feeling as if they cannot keep themselves safe, having concerns about suicidal or homicidal thoughts that feel intense and frequent, having a reaction to psychotropic medication, or experiencing a drug or alcohol overdose.
Sometimes students receive news that feels overwhelming, are having intense and frequent anxiety symptoms, or feel highly distressed. These are all reasons to come to the center and have a drop in appointment where the Counseling Center staff can support you during these times. Students can also access the center by phoning 718-687-5356, select option 2, or select option 3 to reach the 24/7 on-call counselor (after hours line).
Absolutely not. Counseling records are not part of your academic record. The counseling process is confidential, and your counselor will strictly maintain that confidentiality. Some exceptions to confidentiality do apply: your counselor may need to share information in the event of a psychological emergency requiring hospitalization or in circumstances involving your safety or the safety of others. When these exceptions occur, you will be informed.
You can call to make an appointment by reaching out to 718.687.5356 or therapy@pratt.edu, or you can come to The Student Wellness Center, third floor to schedule an appointment with the Admin.