Northern Arizona University

August 2007

Welcome NAU Students:

Whether you are working on your college or graduate degree, I bet you have many things to juggle to get through school. The Counseling & Testing Center (CTC; diagonally across from Cline Library) might be able to help you with this juggling.

Yes, the "student life" has many benefits, but it can also be physically and emotionally challenging. Some students enter NAU already knowing that counseling can be helpful, others may discover this along the way.

The CTC works with students to address the psychological challenges they may experience. Our counselors regularly work with depression and anxiety, relationship difficulties, eating and body image concerns, traumatic experiences, and adjustment issues, to name a few. Students can call to schedule an initial appointment with one of our counselors. In this free confidential "consultation," difficulties may be more clearly defined, feelings validated, and resources for assistance identified. As a result of this meeting, other specialized services might be recommended - some of which the CTC offers (see Eligibility and Costs), others may be elsewhere on campus or in the community. About 1,100 students used our services in this way last year and many found just one meeting extremely helpful!

CTC's Testing Services support student success by providing access to tests that you may need to get college credit and/or place out of college classes and to get ready for life after college. Examples of such tests include: CLEP, MCAT, GRE, ASE and many more. (Please Note: CLEP tests offer college credit for certain courses without actually taking the class!)

If we can help, please give us a call.

Wishing you a balanced and enjoyable experience at NAU,

Chris Gunn, Ph.D.
Director

PS: If you are interested, you or a family member might want to take a look at one or both of these books:

1. Beating the College Blues: A Student's Guide to Coping with the Ups and Downs of College Life by Paul A. Grayson et al. (1999)
2. Don't Tell Me What to Do, Just Send Money: The Essential Parenting Guide to the College Years by Helen E. Johnson et al. (2000)
3. Making The Most Of College: Students Speak Their Minds by Richard Light (2001)