Counseling at LAU is a service that is offered to you throughout your university years. Starting with the school to college transition and all its emotional baggage, to dealing with all the different and at times challenging emotions and thoughts pertaining to academics and other personal matters. Counseling can equip you with essential tools to effectively manage current and potential future problems.

Counseling sessions are strictly confidential and are free of charge for all currently enrolled students. They are typically scheduled once a week and may expand over several weeks depending on the objectives identified by you and the counselor collaboratively.

When Should I Seek Help from a Counselor?

You can seek counseling whenever you believe things have become difficult to handle. You can be experiencing one or more of the following concerns:

• Test anxiety
• Sleep problems
• Low self-esteem
• Alcohol or drug misuse
• Concentration difficulties
• Decision-making problems
• Frequent and unexplained change in mood
• Feelings of hopelessness or helplessness
• Exposure to sexual, physical, or emotional abuse
• Anxiety, fear, or anger impacting daily life
• Eating problems
• Suicidal thoughts
• Loneliness and/or homesickness
• Procrastination
• Relationship issues (family, friends, romantic)
• Loss of a family member or a loved one
• Decline in academic performance

What Types of Counseling Services Are Offered at LAU?

• Short-term individual counseling
• General consultation
• Group counseling
• Academic skills guidance
• Career/vocational counseling
• Crisis interventions
• On/Off campus referrals
  If the counselors believe that the student’s concerns are beyond the scope of the services provided at LAU, they will provide the student with a list of off-campus professionals (i.e., psychotherapists and/or psychiatrists) from which to choose

How will the Counselor Help?

When you meet with the counselor, you will go over the challenges you are facing that may be impacting your daily function and productivity. You will then, in collaboration with the counselor, identify the main objectives for the counseling process which will be periodically evaluated.

The counselor can then help you better understand the situation you are going through and explore alternative and much healthier ways to manage the stressors.

Also, counseling at LAU offers you the chance to:

• Disclose and discuss sensitive issues in a safe environment
• Confide in someone who can be trusted for their open-mindedness and professional help
• Receive support and aid in overcoming distress

While knowing that all the information discussed during counseling sessions:

• Will not go on your university official records, nor on your transcripts
• Are strictly confidential – unless the counselor identifies that there is potential for self-harm or harm to others.

Tips During these Challenging Time

We have developed a series of tips and exercises covering different topics, to help you through these difficult stretches and assist you to optimize your academic, extracurricular and social paths. 

• Seeking Social Support sheds light on healthy behaviors that promote social support, and unhelpful behaviors that could hinder social support.
• Providing Social Support helps you understand the reasons why people do not seek support and gives you tips on how to help them.
• Performing mindfulness exercises invites you to be in touch with your internal experiences and to reduce your anxiety.
• Strengthening your Emotional Resilience offers tips on how to bounce back when experiencing difficult circumstances.
• Thinking about 6 things the night before the exam that will help reduce exam-related stress.
• Doing 6 things on the morning of the exam that will enhance your readiness.

Are you currently going through a difficult time in your life that are perhaps causing conflicting emotions and troubling your state of mind? You are not alone.

We can guide you through some of the most common feelings you might be going through and support you through the process of self-discovery.