Video Peer Support
Are you feeling lonely?
Maybe loneliness isn’t the
issue, but you’re struggling
with other things. Maybe
you’re feeling really
overwhelmed by your classes
or don’t seem to be
adjusting very well to
college life. Whatever is
going on, we can help!
Graduate student counselors
in the Professional
Counseling program are here
to listen and help you deal
with your issues. Chances
are that student counselors
have gone through similar
types of situations you’re
dealing with right now. Why
not give us a try? Student
counselors are available to
talk to you on Mondays and
Thursdays from 6:00 – 8:00
p.m. using Skype, a free,
private video service which
allows two people to have a
face-to-face conversation
with one another on their
computer screens. Skype
automatically encrypts video
conversations as a
protection of privacy. If
you have not yet downloaded
Skype on to
your computer, you may do so
by clicking on the following
link:
http://www.skype.com/download/
If you would like to talk
to one of our student
counselors, then simply send
an e-mail at least 24 hours
in advance to
mtsupsc@hushmail.com (a
secure e-mail account). We
will let you know what time
a student counselor will be
available to talk to you.
Video Peer Support is a free
service provided to MTSU
students. Here are the
policies and procedures
pertaining to this service:
1. Make sure that you can
have a video chat with a
student counselor by
reviewing the instructions
on the Skype website:
http://www.skype.com/help/guides/howtoskype_video/
At a minimum, you will need
a web cam, microphone and a
broadband internet
connection.
2. E-mail the PSC at
least 24 hours in advance
using your university e-mail
account to arrange a time to
talk to a student counselor.
The PSC will e-mail you to
inform you of your “Skype
time.” As a protection of
privacy, the PSC will
respond to your e-mail
request with a very brief
confirmation of your
scheduled video chat session
with a student counselor
(e.g., “You may initiate a
video call with us at 6:00
p.m. on Monday.”).
3. MTSU students initiate
video calls with student
counselors. You can start a
video call by clicking on
the video button of the
contact in your Skype
contact list (assuming you
make the PSC one of your
contacts ahead of time). You
can also activate video by
going to the “Tools" menu,
choosing “Options" and then
selecting “Video". For
further information, follow
the directions provided at
www.skype.com. When the
student counselor answers
your video call, you will be
asked to show your MTSU ID
to verify your status as a
student. Once that’s done,
let the talking begin!
4. As a protection of
your privacy, it is
important that no one else
(e.g., roommate) is around
when you are talking to the
student counselor. If this
is not an option, then you
might consider closing the
door of the room where the
computer is located,
creating background noise
(e.g., turn on a radio or
television) so others will
not overhear your
conversation, and/or
reschedule your video call
on a different day. It is
your decision whether or not
it is in your best interests
to initiate and/or maintain
a video call.
5. It is important to
initiate video calls
promptly as student
counselors have set aside
time to talk to you. Video
calls may last a maximum of
25 minutes assuming they
start on time. Video calls
are scheduled every half
hour, thus there are five
minute buffers between the
end of one call and the
start of another call. Video
calls which start late
(e.g., 6:10 p.m.) will still
need to end at the original
ending time (e.g., 6:25
p.m.).
Disclaimer: Video peer
support is not a replacement
for counseling. It is only
meant as a short-term
support service to MTSU
students who do not believe
they require counseling and
who prefer an option to
in-person contact. Student
counselors encourage MTSU
students to contact MTSU
Counseling Services, located
in 329 Keathley University
Center (898-2670), in the
event ongoing counseling
services are warranted.
COUNSELING
Graduate students in the
Professional Counseling
program provide individual,
parent-child, and group
counseling services to
children, adolescents, and
their parents/caretakers
(NOTE: MTSU students can
receive counseling services
at MTSU Counseling
Services). Student
counselors are trained in
the use of Egan’s “Skilled
Helper Model” as well as
client-centered and
solution-focused counseling
approaches and help clients
resolve behavioral,
emotional and interpersonal
problems. Given that the
Center is a training
facility all counseling
sessions are audio recorded
or videotaped for review in
supervision.
Children and adolescents
benefit from counseling by:
1. discussing concerns with
someone who is genuinely
interested in helping them;
2. learning positive methods
of coping with problems;
3. improving self-esteem and
interpersonal relationships.
The fee for each
counseling session is
$10.00.
In some cases, children
and adolescents who are
brought to the Center do not
have a positive opinion of
counseling perhaps because
they are anxious about
having to do something they
have never done before or
view it as a form of
punishment. This is why it
is important for parents to
let their kids know that
they will be participating
in the counseling process as
well and to reassure them
that upon completion of
their first session, they
will probably find that it
was not as bad as they
thought it would be. That is
because MTSU Professional
Counseling students are
taught about the importance
of establishing a good
working relationship with
the child that is based on
warmth and mutual respect
and not to push the child to
go “too far too fast” in
counseling sessions. It is
the relationship that is the
foundation for everything
else that happens in
counseling.
Counseling referrals:
Referrals to the PSC are
made by a professional
affiliated with a community
agency, clinic, school or
court after they have
screened a child/adolescent.
Parents may call the Center
to schedule an appointment
after a professional has
made a referral.
The types of problems for
which children/adolescents
can be seen by
student counselors include:
• Adjustment problems (e.g.,
adjusting to divorce, death
of a significant other,
moving to
a new school)
• Anxiety problems (e.g.,
excessive worry, fears)
• Low self-esteem/poor
self-concept/unhappiness
• Relationship problems
(e.g., friendship problems,
difficulty getting along
with parents
and/or teachers)
• Non-compliant behavior at
home and/or school (e.g.,
refusing to follow through
with
requests of parents and/or teachers; frequent arguments with
parents)
• Minor legal issues (i.e.,
first time offense for
things such as stealing,
destruction of
property, truancy, etc.) if individual is between the ages of 8 and
13.
The types of problems for
which children/adolescents
cannot be seen by
student counselors include:
• Physical/sexual abuse
• Clients in crisis (e.g.,
suicidal, homicidal)
• Moderate to severe
depression / bipolar
disorder
• Alcohol/drug dependency
issues
• Developmental disorders
(e.g., mental retardation,
Asperger’s disorder, Autism)
• Psychosis (e.g.,
hallucinations, delusions)
• Legal issues (e.g., child
custody; persons who require
an interview with the
purpose of
using the interview information in court proceedings or other
litigation; adolescents
older
than 13)
Parent Education
ClassesParenting
is no easy task. Oftentimes
parents are at their wits
ends when those little
angels they watch sleeping
in their beds at night turn
in to little devils the next
day! The good news is that
parents who arm themselves
with knowledge of effective
child management techniques
will have the advantage when
their children do what they
normally do - test the
limits.
"Parents-in-Charge" is a
parent education class
taught by Psychological
Services Center staff to
community residents.
Elements from award-winning
parent education curricula
including "1-2-3 Magic" and
"Active Parenting" are used
in this 4-week program. Each
class lasts 1 1/2 hours and
involves lively discussions
of struggles parents
experience with children
between the ages of 4 and 11
as well as practical
solutions to everyday
problems.
Parents benefit from
participating in parent
education classes by:
1. learning common triggers
of parent-child conflicts;
2. learning concrete methods
of dealing with conflicts as
well as child disobedience
and misbehavior;
3. improving parenting
skills and relationships
with children.
The fee for the 4-week
program is $30.00 per person
and $50.00 per couple.
Interested in an
“online” version of the
“Parents-in-Charge” class?
Parents whose
schedules do not allow them
to attend class or who
prefer an alternative method
of enhancing their parenting
skills may be interested in
the online version of the
“Parents-in-Charge” class.
The online version does not
require parents to be
“online” at a particular
time of the day and can be
completed at one’s leisure.
Contact the PSC for details.
Parenting Newsletters
The Center encourages
parents to continually
educate themselves so they
can raise well-adjusted
children.
ParentMagic Inc., the
company which publishes the
"1-2-3 Magic" child
discipline program, posts
newsletters on their website
designed to help parents
improve their child-rearing
skills.
Click here for additional
information.
Parent Education
Message Board
Parents who are taking the
“Parents-in-Charge”
in-person or online classes
may access the Parent
Education Message Board,
which contains additional
parenting information as
well as comments from
parents who participate in
the classes pertaining to
various issues they contend
with on a day-to-day basis.
Click here to access the
message board.
MTSU
Psychological Services
Center
MTSU
P.O. Box 87
Murfreesboro, TN 37132
Telephone: (615) 898-5192
Fax: (615) 494-8727
Electronic mail:
psc@mtsu.edu
~
"Thanks to the MTSU College
of Continuing Education &
Distance Learning
for their financial support
of this website and
associated services."
Services
