MAKING THE MOST OF COUNSELING

To a large degree, the progress you make in counseling will depend on your active and genuine involvement. Here are some things you can do to enhance your experience in counseling:

• Attend all of your scheduled counseling sessions, or let your counselor know if you have to miss.
• Honestly and openly voice your thoughts and feelings in counseling.
• Between sessions, think through the concerns you are addressing in counseling.
• Complete your counseling homework assignments.
• Experiment with new and positive ways of doing things and thinking about things.
• Give your counselor feedback about how counseling is going.
• Make use of the Counseling Center’s emergency counseling services as needed.

MENTAL HEALTH SCREENINGS

Hobart and William Smith offer students an opportunity to complete brief, online self-assessment screenings for depression, anxiety, alcohol and eating disorders. Each screening takes about 5 minutes to complete and provides non-diagnostic information about whether your responses are consistent with depression, anxiety, alcohol and/or eating disorders.

Completing the screenings is no substitute for a face-to-face consultation with a mental health professional, but may help you decide whether you would like to meet with a staff member at the HWS Counseling Center.

Your use of the screenings is completely anonymous, and the only information that will be reported back to HWS will be in the form of general summaries relating to the number of students who have completed the screenings, the results of the screenings, and so forth.

POPULAR LINKS

• The University of Chicago's Student Counseling and Resources Services offers a wide range of "virtual pamphlets" relating to college mental health issues.
• The National Institute of Mental Health offers information about a variety of mental disorders, including information on treatment for mental disorders.
• The American Counseling Association offers archived, virtual versions of their popular weekly counseling column.
• Columbia University's Go ask Alice Internet-based question-and-answer health service covers a wide range of health concerns, including psychological ones. The Go Ask Alice Web site offers searchable, archived answers to many questions.
• The Counseling Center at Texas Women's University offers online workshops for college students on test anxiety, stress, time management, and other related topics.
• The American Psychological Association Web site offers a section especially for students; it includes information about careers in psychology, applying to graduate school in psychology, and much more.
• The National Women's Health Information Center offers this brief but useful Web site on sexual assault. The Web site includes links to several relevant national organizations, and covers the following topics: What is sexual assault? Who are victims of sexual assault? How can I help prevent being sexually assaulted? Where else can I go for help? How do I help someone who was been sexually assaulted?
• The Counseling and Mental Health Center at the University of Texas in Austin offers a good "virtual" pamphlet titled Becoming Whole Again: Healing from Sexual Assault.

RECOMMENDED SELF-HELP BOOKS

The Counseling Center, College Store and library have collaborated to make available a selection of recommended self-help books for the campus community. These books address a wide range of concerns, including depression, anxiety, shyness, relationships and more.

To a significant degree the selected books are drawn from a more comprehensive resource, the Authoritative Guide to Self Help Resources in Mental Health, by John C. Norcross and others (revised edition published in 2003, ISBN 1572308397).

Below, we've listed some of our favorite books. We invite you to visit the College Store and library to explore these and other books further.

• Martha Davis, Elizabeth R. Eshelman and Matthew McKay (2000), The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook (5th edition). This popular self-help book that provides a wide variety of sensible, straightforward, and effective strategies for addressing everyday stress.
• Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1998), Finding Flow: the Psychology of Engagement in Everyday Life. In this stimulating book, Mihaly Csikszentmihayli (pronounced "Chik-sent-mee-high-yee") demonstrates how anyone can apply his highly regarded psychological research on "flow" to enhance the enjoyment of life. Csikszentmihayli describes the kinds of daily activities that do and don't produce genuine engagement, and demonstrates that increasing one's involvement in engaging activities leads to a more satisfying life.
• Martin Seligman (1998), Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life. Martin Seligman, a leading psychologist, turns his ground-breaking research on "learned helplessness" on its head, and describes how developing "learned optimism" can improve many facets of one's life.
• Ellen Bass and Laura Davis (1994), The Courage To Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse (3rd edition). Although neither Ellen Bass nor Laura Davis are trained mental health professionals, they developed what is widely considered the "Bible" for adult women who have experienced sexual abuse during childhood. The book offers stories from other "survivors," helpful writing exercises, advice for partners of survivors and much more.
• Michael Lew (1990), Victims No Longer: Men Recovering from Incest and Other Child Abuse. This book is an essential resource for the otherwise often overlooked men who have suffered abuse in childhood. The book includes helpful personal accounts from men who have survived childhood abuse, and offers a variety of other useful self-help information.
• Edmund J. Bourne (2000), The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook (3rd edition). The latest edition of this well-known book rounds out its practical, step-by-step offerings of mostly cognitive-behavioral strategies to address anxiety and phobias by including relevant information about medications and herbal supplements.
• R. Reid Wilson (1996), Don't Panic: Taking Control of Anxiety Attacks (revised edition). This book provides a thorough introduction to Panic Disorder and then offers an empirically supported, cognitive-behaviorally based self-help program for addressing panic attacks.
• Robert E. Alberti & Michael L. Emmons (2001), Your Perfect Right: Assertiveness and Equality in Your Life and Relationships (8th edition). A classic in the field, this book emphasizes the use of effective communication in becoming appropriately assertive.
• Edward M. Hallowell & John J. Ratey (1995), Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood through Adulthood. This book is a valuable resource that offers a life-span perspective on attention disorders and emphasizes the effect such disorders can have on relationships, education, and careers. The book reviews the diagnosis of attention disorders, co-occurring disorders, and treatment strategies.
• David D. Burns (1999), The Feeling Good Handbook (revised edition). This popular book translates the widely used and empirically supported cognitive therapy for depression into a self-help program that addresses depression and other closely related problems (e.g., insecurity, irritability, procrastination, guilt). The book offers numerous exercises, self-rating scale and other aids that make it easy to apply its fundamental concepts while also assessing one's progress.
• Kim Howard & Annie Stevens (Eds.) (2000), Out and About Campus. Personal Accounts by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered College Students. This book offers a collection of 28 essays written by GLBT college students from across the U.S. The essays are first-person accounts of the students' experiences in adjusting to academic life. As a whole, the accounts are thoughtful, insightful and moving and offer support to others facing similar issues.
• Ritch C. Savin-Williams (2001), Mom, Dad, I'm Gay: How Families Negotiate Coming Out. In this valuable resource psychologist and researcher Ritch Savin-Williams summarizes the results of his own research and that of others to provide a nuanced perspective on the wide variety of experiences young people have as they "come out" to their families.
• Peter McWilliams, Harold H. Bloomfield, & Melba Colgrove (1993), How to Survive the Loss of a Love. The title notwithstanding, this book actually considers losses of all kinds, including not only relationships lost through death or break-ups but also the psychological losses entailed by bankruptcy, serious illness and accidents, career setbacks and so forth. The book offers a mix of practical advice, inspirational passages and other helpful aids.
• Terrance Dean (2003), Reclaim your power! A 30-day Guide to Hope, Healing, and Inspiration for Men of Color. In this book Terrance Dean, a writer and motivational speaker, offers a 30-day guide modeled on devotional books. Each day the reader is invited to read a brief passage that provides wisdom, advice, and inspiration in managing problems often faced by men of color.
• Monique Greenwood (2001), Having What Matters: the Black Woman's Guide to Creating the Life You Really Want. Monique Greenwood is a successful, Black businesswoman who uses this inspirational book to share with other women the lessons she has learned in developing a satisfying life.
• Edna B. Foa & Reid Wilson (2001), Stop Obsessing! How to Overcome Your Obsessions and Compulsions (revised edition). Psychologist Edna Foa is a leading researcher in the treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. This authoritative book offers a clear introduction to the disorder and its origins and provides empirically supported, cognitive-behaviorally based strategies for addressing the disorder.
• Robin Warshaw (1994), I Never Called it Rape: The Ms. Report on Recognizing, Fighting, and Surviving Date and Acquaintance Rape. Not only is this book one of the best self-help books available relating to acquaintance rape, it is also a valuable resource for partners and family members of rape victims and for educators and counselors.
• Aaron Beck (1989). Love is Never Enough: How Couples Can Overcome Misunderstandings, Resolve Conflicts and Solve Relationship Problems Through Cognitive Therapy. In this popular self-help book, psychiatrist Aaron Beck, who is one of the founders and early developers of cognitive therapy, applies his therapeutic approach to romantic relationships.
• John M. Gottman & Joan DeClaire (2002), The Relationship Cure: A Five Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family and Friendships. John Gottman, a psychologist and leading researcher in relationships, offers an empirically supported program for improving relationships of all kinds. Gottman demonstrates the importance of recognizing key relationship cues and then responding to these cues effectively.
• Franklin Schneier & Lawrence Welkowitz (1996), The Hidden Face of Shyness: Understanding and Overcoming Social Anxiety. This book offers a good introduction to the varieties and origins of social anxiety, along with a practical self-help program for addressing the problem.
• Martha Davis, Elizabeth R. Eshelman, & Matthew McKay (2000), The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook (5th edition.). This popular book provides a wide variety of sensible, straightforward, and effective strategies for addressing everyday stress.