The Counseling Center
As part of both Baylor University and the Division of Student Life, the Counseling Center staff
also strive to be a transformative presence in the lives of our students, as well as with training
our interns. We are a multidisciplinary staff, including 8 Licensed Psychologists, 1 Licensed
Clinical Social Worker, 1-2 social work interns, 1 Addictive Behaviors Specialist, 1 Registered
Dietician, 2 Interns, 4-5 Doctoral Practicum students, and up to 11 part-time licensed
independent practitioners. Our support staff includes 1 Office Manager and 2 Billing Clerks.
Our vision for the Doctoral Internship in Psychology is to develop professional psychologists
with the conceptual and clinical competencies necessary to deliver psychological services in a
manner that is effective and responsive to individual and societal needs, both now and in the
future. The underlying philosophy for the training program is a practitioner-scholar model that
integrates theory, research, and clinical practice. We believe sensitivity to individual differences
and cultures in a diverse society, and openness to self-reflection and life-long learning are
necessary to bring these together. The person of the therapist, with a set of cultural / life
experiences and unique personality, is an integral part of translating theory and research into
practice. Growth in this comes by attention to the process of our work, and attention to our own
personhood. Our philosophy can be captured by the training questions we will ask interns to
reflect upon, “Who am I as a therapist?” and “What are the ways I am therapeutic?”
It is within this philosophical framework, that the Baylor Counseling Center Internship has three
primary goals: 1) developing interns’ core clinical skills to be a transformative presence, 2)
developing an intern’s multicultural competence and respect for diversity, and 3) developing
interns’ professional identities as psychologists and as future leaders in the field.
Counseling Center Mission
Counseling Services strives to facilitate the transformational education and total development of
students (and the university community) by enhancing mental health and wholeness.
Counseling Center Programs
Programs offered through Counseling Services are organized into five categories:
A. Outreach –Outreach programming focuses on reducing mental health stigma on
campus and providing education on topics relevant to all Baylor students, such as stress
management and suicide prevention.
B. Clinical Services –Individual, couples, and group counseling for students with
psychological concerns, crisis intervention for students experiencing a psychological
crisis or emergency, and medical nutrition therapy by a licensed and registered dietitian
C. Training – Training for doctoral students in psychology including:
1. Doctoral Internship in Psychology
2. Doctoral Practicum for Baylor graduate students
3. Partnership with Dept. of Psychology and Neuroscience
D. Multicultural Services – Our Multicultural Services program incorporates culturally
specific components to the clinical, outreach and training services we already provide.
In addition, we develop new outreach and clinical services specific to students of
different cultural backgrounds. Training is provided to staff on various topic areas
related to multicultural competency, knowledge, awareness and treatment. We
collaborate with other departments to help put on events that celebrate diversity and
educate students, faculty and staff on the intersection of mental illness and culture.
E. Interpersonal Violence Prevention - focuses on empowering students, faculty, and
staff to intervene to prevent acts of interpersonal violence. Our training equips
participants with the knowledge necessary to identify at risk individuals and to develop a
personalized, safe, and courageous method of taking action in order to eradicate all acts
of violence from within our community.
Counseling Center Services
To effectively fulfill its mission and accomplish its goals, the Department of Counseling Services
provides:
 Individual, couples, and group counseling for students with psychological concern
 Crisis intervention for students experiencing a psychological crisis or emergency
 Medical nutrition therapy
 Outreach and prevention programs for students
 Consultation services for faculty, staff, families, and friends of students
 Case management services for students needing referral to community resources
 Training for graduate students in psychology, higher education student affairs, and social
work.
The Counseling Center sees over 1,100 students and provides over 5,000 appointments
annually to eligible Baylor University Students. These appointments included initial walk-in
assessments, crises, consultations, group therapy, individual counseling, couple’s counseling,
psychiatric, dietician, and case management. Students that seek our services come from
diverse backgrounds and present a wide range of concerns, including relational problems,
depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, adjustment difficulties, phase-of-life difficulties,
bereavement and grief, sexual abuse and sexual assault, academic struggles, attention
difficulties, and eating concerns. Typically, we additionally make contact with over 4,500
students through our annual outreach programming on campus.