If you are experiencing an emergency, call 9-1-1 immediately. 

Sterling College Counseling Services seeks to serve students in the spirit of Christ, supporting their holistic well-being. Our counselors, guided by their faith and professional expertise, work to integrate Christian values into counseling practices that promote spiritual and personal growth. We offer individual counseling, small groups focused on faith-based personal development, and mentorship opportunities with members of the Sterling College community who share Christian values.

Sterling College offers counseling services free to any of our students. The purpose of providing these services is to improve their academic performance and emotional, social, and spiritual well-being. Research indicates that students who struggle socially or emotionally are more likely to either drop out of school or transfer. We aim to reach out to those students, so that their college experience can be more enjoyable and successful.

Clinical counseling services are provided by Pivotal Point Family Therapy.

Pivotal Point Family Therapy services are free to Sterling College students. They will be providing scheduled times for students who need counseling. They are located off campus so for students who do not have a vehicle they will need to arrange their own transportation. If needed they can email student life for transportation or choose to be seen via Telehealth. If students choose telehealth and want more privacy on campus, SC will arrange for a student to use the previously designated counseling offices for their telehealth appointment.

 

Eligibility and Cost

On campus counseling is available at no cost to enrolled traditional undergraduate and graduate students. Spouses of currently enrolled students may attend marriage counseling with their partner, but are ineligible for individual sessions.

To make an appointment:

Confidentiality

Students sometimes feel hesitant to seek counseling services out of concern that parents, teachers, or administrators might have access to their interaction with a counselor; this is not the case.

  • All records are confidential and they are NOT part of your academic or administrative records.
  • Your records and personal history are available to no one, this includes parents, family, police, faculty, or administration unless you provide written consent. No information about your counseling will be released to anyone without your authorization, except under the following circumstances:
    • If you are under 18 years of age, your parents or legal guardian(s) may request access to your records and may authorize their release to other parties.
    • If you are determined to be in imminent danger of harming yourself or someone else.
    • If you disclose abuse or neglect of children, the elderly, or disabled persons.
    • Where otherwise legally required.

Services include:

  • Mental Health Assessment
  • Crisis Evaluation and Intervention
  • Individual Counseling
  • Referral Services

These services are confidential in nature. All records are confidential and separate from any other record on campus. The content of all sessions is confidential with these limitations: if there is an immediate or imminent threat of personal harm to self or another person, if there is a report of ongoing abuse to a minor, or if the student is under 18.

Issues that can be addressed through Pivotal Point Family Therapy may include but are not limited to...
  • Anxiety
  • Depression/ Suicide
  • Alcohol/Drug Issues
  • Stress
  • Trauma
  • Eating Disorders
  • Relational Issues
  • Family Problems
  • Grief
  • Identity issues
  • Sexual Abuse or Domestic Violence
 
 
Proper protocol and procedures for counseling:
  • If you are experiencing an emergency, call 9-1-1 immediately
  • If you need immediate help after office hours and cannot reach the RD or RD call 620-278-6218, please call 1-800-875-2544, the Crisis Intervention Hotline for Rice County, KS.
  • Otherwise, appointments and/or referrals can be made in advance by contacting counseling @sterling.edu or studentlife@sterling.edu
  • Finally, if you have problems such as schoolwork, text anxiety, anger management or are looking for life coaching and/or spiritual counseling please reach out to studentlife@sterling.edu, or academicsupport@sterling.edu or contact your RD.