Counseling Services Overview
We offer tailored experiences to enhance the well-being of all faculty, staff, retirees, and their household members, at absolutely no cost. Our dedicated team of licensed professionals provides assessments, brief counseling, and referrals as needed, while also collaborating with supervisors and departments to foster a positive work environment.
Core Counseling Services
We are dedicated to providing quality, confidential assistance to employees and their families who may be experiencing difficulties that impact their lives.
Assessment
We provide confidential assessment for all employees and household members to determine whether short-term counseling or a referral to a community provider is recommended.
Short-Term Counseling
We offer confidential short-term solution-focused counseling to University of Illinois employees, retirees, and their household members. Examples of issues addressed include work-related issues, relationship and family concerns, grief and loss, substance use/addictions, stress, anxiety, depression, and other personal concerns.
Referrals
We offer referrals to community providers when long-term counseling is recommended. Individual therapists and group practices are invited in to describe their specialties to tailor a referral not only for skill set but also for therapeutic style to match the client’s needs.
Crisis/Trauma Debriefing
We respond to campus and/or departmental crises through individual crisis intervention, individual or group debriefings, and consultations for supervisors or departmental leaders following a critical incident or traumatic event such as the death of a coworker.
Work Groups
We will meet with work groups to address how to move a group from impasse and persistent dysfunction to constructive growth and advance problem-solving skills.
Leadership Consultations
We facilitate a discussion to provide an understanding of the relationship between presenting problems, underlying needs, and service recommendations. Examples may include:
- Adjustment to personnel change.
- Responding to the difficult employee.
- Dysfunctional group dynamics or work culture.
- Shared experiences that have collective impact such as the loss of a co-worker, organizational restructuring, or policy change.
Group Structured Series
A four-part series combines individual and group services with the target group. The intention is to identify the problem that the group faces, and a plan for both the individual and the group awareness of the role each plays in the current culture. The group will engage in a problem-solving process in the last group session. This in-depth discussion focuses on culture change. This series consists of two individual sessions with each person in the work group and two group sessions.
Mediation Services
This service provides conflict resolution for 2 members of a work group (3 if joined by the supervisor). This is a voluntary process and cannot be assigned as a directive. It consists of each person having an individual meeting and then a facilitated joint session. The goal is to seek a solution, not to determine fault. It cannot be provided during an investigation but can be recommended as a follow-up.
Process Series
The group dynamic is the interaction between group members. When supervisors, directors, and department heads need to be a part of the process discussion, group facilitation can be reassigned. It is designed to:
- Promote group development.
- Identify problem solving obstacles.
- Encourage group emotional intelligence.