Counseling Mission and Values

Counseling Services Mission

To provide personal counseling to registered students of Cal State East Bay, with the aim of supporting student wellness, retention, and graduation.
Clinical services should be culturally sensitive, visible, and accessible to the student population.
Programming should pay particular attention to groups and individuals who are highest need and/or traditionally underserved.
We use a brief model in order to manage high demand in a way that is equitable and accessible.

Hope - we will build an authentic sense that things can get better, and help students strengthen their locus of control. We want students to leave our clinic with more hope than they came in with.

Growth - we will facilitate students’ self-reflection and personal exploration, to help them understand their past, enjoy their present, and dream for their future. We assume that growth is a constant process for our students, and for ourselves as professionals. We are willing to take a learning posture, and to coach our students to do the same.

Empathy - we intend to create both safe and brave spaces for students. We strive to be voices of understanding and acceptance, making students feel welcome, acknowledged, and cared for.

Social Justice - we will act as advocates on campus, especially for issues, individuals, and communities who have been marginalized. We will strive to build both awareness and action around both individual and structural inequities.

Community - we will work to give students a sense that they are not alone, and have access to support on campus. We will collaborate to build a network of support for students that goes beyond any individual counselor or department.

Courage - we will hold a strengths-based perspective on our students, and reflect their gifts and capacities back to them. We will empower students to know their value and to use their voices. We will also build our internal capacity for courageous conversations as a staff.

Flexibility - we are committed to doing what works best for individual students, and for our campus community. We hold our clinical orientations and training flexibly, and are willing to adjust to the needs of each client, specific campus communities, and of the campus as a whole - within the limitations of our structure and resources. We hope to facilitate access to mental health support for all of our students, while prioritizing those with higher support needs and less access to resources. This is an important tension to be in conversation with, not to be resolved.