Counseling & Psychological Services
Mission
The Office of Counseling and Psychological Services is a resource within the Division of Student Affairs at Medgar Evers College, CUNY. The Office of Counseling and Psychological Services mission is to assist students coping with personal, academic and career challenges that interfere with their ability to achieve academic success and actualize their human potential.We offer free short-term counseling to students that are struggling with issues of trauma, grief, depression, anxiety and/or adjustment to college. The Office of Counseling and Psychological Services is staffed with Mental Health Counselors who provide culturally-competent, strengthbased services that identifies the resiliency of students as well as any challenges that impede their emotional growth and self-actualization.
Program Description
The primary function of Counseling & Psychological Services is to help students cope with academic, career, and personal challenges that may interfere with their ability to achieve academic success and actualize their human potential. The counseling philosophy of Medgar Evers College is “to motivate and assist students in their pursuit of education, career, and personal/social empowerment for life-long self-development.” Counseling is a collaborative process which involves the development of a unique, confidential helping relationship.
Mental Health Counselors provide individual and group counseling in the psycho-social areas, such as self-esteem, domestic violence, bereavement/grief, strengthening family relationships, anxiety and depression. Burke and Stefflre (1995) stated that “counseling is designed to help students to understand and clarify their views of their life space and to learn to reach their self-determined goals through meaningful, well-informed choices and through resolution of emotional or interpersonal challenges.
Services Provided
- Short-term (6 sessions) individual counseling;
- Group counseling:
- Crisis intervention;
- Workshops which educate the Medgar Evers College community about different psycho-social challenges that affect students’ academic achievement (i.e. anger management, self-esteem, grief, and relationships).
The Office of Counseling and Psychological Services also liaises with community mental health services that provides students with more intensive and longer-term counseling services when needed. The Office of Counseling and Psychological Services is committed to helping the students, faculty and staff understand that mental health is as important as good grades. Any
student struggling with interpersonal and/or educational challenges should know that “Counseling Is Always in Season”, and we are here to assist!
Why Counseling?
- Therapy can help you with adjustment changes (Ex. Transitioning into College)
- Therapy can help you gain insight into unhealthy patterns (Ex. Procrastination)
- Therapy can help you with time management skills (Ex. Managing school, work, and home life balance)
- Therapy can help you process grief
- Therapy can help you heal from past trauma
- Therapy can help you with interpersonal and intimate relationships
- Therapy can help you adjust to unexpected changes in your life and/or the world (Ex. Life-Threatening Illness, Change in location, Etc.)
Resources
- If you wish to address an urgent concern during business hours (Monday-Friday, 9-5), please call 718-270-5123/6914 or email cap@mec.cuny.edu.
- If you are on the MEC campus, call Public Safety at 718-270-6068
- If you have a medical or psychological emergency and the office is closed, here are some crisis support resources:
Crisis Text Line – available 24/7
Text: CUNY to 741741
https://www.crisistextline.org/
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline – available 24/7
Call 988
NYC Well Mental Health Referral and Crisis Resource – available 24/7
Text: WELL to 65173
Chat
https://nycwell.cityofnewyork.us/en/
Call: 1-888-NYC-WELL (1-888-692-9355)
Non-Crisis Peer Mental Health Support
Togetherall – a free online community for mental health support
Available 24/7, free for CUNY students
Location:
Room B-1005 (Bedford building, near the auditorium)
Hours:
Monday through Friday | 9am to 5pm by appointment (Walk-ins are welcome)
For more information:
email: cap@mec.cuny.edu
phone: (718) 270-5123 (office)
Counseling & Psychological Services
Makeba Pinder-Hewston, Ph.D., LMSW
Director
(718) 270-5123
mpinder@mec.cuny.edu
1650 Bedford Ave.,
Room B-1005D
Brooklyn, NY, 11225