Graduate Students Counseling Undergraduates at Community Wellbeing and Support Clinic

By Philip Walzer

An Old Dominion 91����Ƶ program is tapping the expertise of graduate students in counseling to help other students with mental health issues.

The Community Wellbeing and Support Clinic, which opened in the fall of 2021, offers Old Dominion students free counseling sessions provided by graduate students in counseling.

The clinic, operated by the Department of Counseling and Human Services, was launched to meet the growing needs of students.

ODU’s Office of Counseling Services was stretched thin, and “the pandemic exacerbated that,” said Vanessa N. Dominguez, a clinical assistant professor of counseling and human services who directs the clinic. “Students were having a hard time being isolated and adjusting.”

Ed Neukrug, professor of counseling and human services and former chair of the department, helped launch the clinic. “The main issue is serving students,” he said, “but it’s a great benefit to our program to have graduate students doing the counseling.”

Dominguez said: “We’re providing a free mental health service to the ODU community and we’re also providing a dynamic training opportunity for the students in our department.”

The Office of Counseling Services refers some students “with no significant risk factors” to the clinic, said Joy Himmel, the director of the office. The clinic, Himmel said, “provides a valuable resource for our students.”

About 80 – primarily undergraduates – have been served so far by seven master’s-level counselor trainees, she said. The graduate counseling students are supervised by Dominguez or another faculty member. Each attends a weekly meeting with a faculty member to review individual cases.

“We’re providing a free mental health service to the ODU community and we’re also providing a dynamic training opportunity for the students in our department.” - Vanessa N. Dominguez, clinical assistant professor of counseling and human services and director of the clinic

Students can schedule up to 10 counseling sessions per semester, Dominguez said. The clinic has four counseling rooms, but most students prefer remote sessions. “There’s still a lot of stigma,” she said, “so they feel more comfortable online.”

The most common issues include study and other coping skills, relationship problems and emotion management.

“With the unique impact of the pandemic, some of the students are having a harder time making friends,” Dominguez said. “It’s harder for them to concentrate and harder to manage their schedule.”

The clinic also addresses LGBTQ+ topics. “My counselor helped me overcome the hurdle of figuring out my gender,” a senior said.

The Community Wellbeing and Support Clinic also employs a doctoral student as a Title IX advocate, who helps victims of sexual harassment or assault. “I don’t know of anybody else who’s doing that,” said Neukrug, who holds the Batten Endowed Chair of Counseling.

Undergraduate human services majors play a role, too. They engage in up to three consultations with each student, identifying the most appropriate resources. They also attend the weekly reviews.

Neukrug credited Tammi Dice, dean of the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies, and Johnny Young, associate vice president for student engagement, for their help in launching the clinic.

Dominguez said formal and informal evaluations show a high degree of satisfaction with the clinic. “The students feel like they are being supported and are getting what they need.”

The master’s students have also found it an enriching experience.

“From learning about the logistics and challenges of running a mental health program to the really important work of sitting with clients in their pain, the clinic in part shaped my identity as a counselor,” said Ashley “AJ” Jacquette, one of the couneslor trainees. “I feel privileged and honored to have worked at such a needed and important program for ODU’s community.”

Above: Ed Neukrug, professor of counseling and human services and former chair of the department, helped launch the Community Wellbeing and Support Clinic. Vanessa N. Dominguez, clinical assistant professor of counseling and human services, directs the clinic. Photo Chuck Thomas/ODU