Personal Counseling

A 45-minute workshop to understand how stress affects you and what to do about it.

Handling stress is an important concern for students. Learn how to anticipate the stressors of living in a post-Covid-19 world.

A 45-minute workshop to increase student success in both in-person and online classes.

Effective study skills, updated with tips to increase success. Covers organization, time management skills, and helpful tips to increase retention of learned material.

A 45-minute workshop on understanding anxiety and depression.

Learning how excessive anxiety and/or depression can affect you is the first step to learn how to reverse the cycle. Know signs and symptoms to be aware of and what your options are to increase healthy responses.

A 45-minute workshop to Increase your ability to overcome stress.

Learn to reduce anxiety and feeling overwhelmed, by adding new techniques (happiness skills) to your self-care and coping skills toolbox.

A 40-minute workshop on increasing self-esteem.

Learn how to stop self-sabotage, begin compassionately supporting yourself, and start empowering yourself to reach your higher goals.

A 45-minute workshop on creating healthy relationships.

Learn what makes for a successful, fulfilling, and safe relationship, while increasing your ability to recognize warning signs that might signal trouble ahead.

A 45-minute workshop to increase your knowledge about suicidality.

Learning what you can do to help yourself and those you care about stay safe is of critical importance in today’s stress filled environment. It’s okay to talk about it!

A 45-minute workshop on skills to overcome test anxiety and boost exam performance.

Learn to understand test anxiety, how to optimize performance, and utilize effective test taking strategies to increase success.

A 30-minute workshop on facing change.

Change is challenging! Learn how and why we resist change, and learn effective strategies that will increase your ability to create the changes you desire in your life.

A 45-minute workshop that explores obstacles that could interfere with your academic progress.

Learn to identify barriers to progress and how to persevere, in the face of challenges, to achieve success in your academic endeavors.

A 45-minute workshop to polish student’s oral and written communication skills.

Learn the power of effective and professional language to get your message across and increase your chances of being listened to and being understood.

A 40-minute workshop to guide students to higher success levels by knowing when, how, and who to ask for help.

Learn how to be in your power and to ask for the support you deserve for reaching your academic goals.

A 40-minute workshop on increasing your ability to be in your power.

Learn how to speak up for yourself, be your own advocate, and increase your chances of getting what you want by increasing your assertiveness skills.

A 30-minute for workshop to help prepare you for the holiday experience.

Increase your understanding of Holiday Blues and learn what strategies can help you to “let go and find the joy.”

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Problems forming relationships
• Lack of satisfaction with current relationships
• Loss of relationships (through death, divorce, break-ups, moving away)
• Family problems
• Anger
• Loneliness
• Homesickness
• Being different from others due to ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, race
• Experiencing violence now or in the past
• Problems related to alcohol or other substance use
• Rape/sexual assault
• Problems with eating or body image
• Adjusting to college
• Adjusting to a new culture
• Wanting to learn to make healthier life choices
• Having a general sense of "not feeling like myself"
• Having a general feeling of unhappiness or unease
• Confusion about identity, who or what you want to be
  Career and major exploration

Personal counseling services are free and confidential to all registered BCTC students.

Students frequently ask the following questions about confidentiality:

• What if a professor calls to find out if a student has sought counseling?
• What if a parent calls wanting to know if their son or daughter is getting help?
• What if a future employer wants to know if a BCTC graduate has ever received counseling?

Our staff takes confidentiality extremely seriously. No matter who calls seeking information about students or alumni, the answer is always something like this: "We are not allowed to disclose any information about students without a written release of information from that student. Therefore, we are not even able to tell you whether a person has ever sought services here."

That means that students can seek counseling services at Counseling Services and rest assured that no one will know their business unless the student gives his or her permission for the counselor to release information. There are only three exceptions to this policy:

• The first involves safety: If a student discloses to a counselor that he or she feels like they can not prevent themselves from killing or seriously harming themselves or another person, the counselor may need to break confidentiality. That doesn't mean that students can't talk about suicidal or rageful feelings. Lots of students go through times when they feel this way. It's just that if a person feels these things to such extremes that they can't control themselves from carrying it out, their counselor may need to break confidentiality to protect a person from harm.
• Another exception to the policy is when the student tells the counselor about someone being abused who is either under 18, over 65, or disabled. In these cases, the counselor is mandated by law to disclose that information to the Kentucky Department of Social Services. The reason for this is to make sure that people who can not protect themselves are being protected by the law and by state services.
• The final exception to the policy is when a judge forces a counselor to turn over records to a court of law. This is very rare and only occurs when students are involved in some sort of legal proceedings such as custody cases and lawsuits.

Informed Consent

Our policy about confidentiality is based on state law and the ethics of the counseling profession. We believe strongly that students should be aware of how these policies work before they begin counseling. This is known as a client's informed consent. Counselors talk with students about these and other related issues in their first session.