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Free counseling extended into summer

WHITEWATER — There’s a hidden treasure in a building on the east side of the UW-Whitewater campus.

It’s a place where a teen girl could talk to someone about her eating disorder.

It’s a place where a man could talk to someone about his drinking problem.

It’s a place where a woman could talk to someone about her abusive relationship.

And it’s free.

The Winther Counseling Lab at UW-Whitewater has been offering free and confidential counseling to campus students and staff and to children, adults and families in the community for about 10 years, said Dave Van Doren, clinic director.

The lab is part of the graduate counselor education program. Students working toward a master’s degree in counseling use the lab to practice their skills under the supervision of teachers, who are certified counselors, he said.

And now the lab is extending its reach into the community.

In early April, the lab opened an off-campus location at Congregational United Church of Christ, 130 S. Church St., where counseling is offered once a week.

Starting this year, the lab—both the on-campus and off-campus locations—will be open into the summer. Counseling will be offered daily through July.

“We realized that we’d probably be more accessible if we were off campus,” Van Doren said, “and we realized that to be an organization that serves the community, we could no longer take summers off.”

The majority of counseling sessions are recorded, and the footage is used to help students learn, said Krista Kim, lab manager. Being able to see and hear what they did wrong—or what they did right—goes a long way in developing students’ skills, she said.

A session is recorded only with a client’s permission, she said. Most agree when they learn the footage is used in the classroom, watched only by the student counselor and the teacher, and later destroyed.

The majority of counseling sessions become the subject of conversation between students and teachers, Van Doren said. That consultation helps students become more effective counselors, he said.

“Together we can hone in on what really is the problem for that client, for example,” he said. “It’s not what’s on the surface but what’s underneath that’s important. And it takes some skill to nudge toward that. Students sometimes are nervous about nudging.”

Kim said the counseling lab fills a need in the community, and as more people learn of the services available, they are no longer hesitating to seek help with their troubles.

“When people call, we don’t have to say, ‘This is the fee’ or ‘Bring your insurance card,’” she said. “There’s a significant number of people who can’t afford counseling or who aren’t insured, and so the fact that that question doesn’t get posed, I think, makes people more inclined to get help.

“We’re kind of like a ‘best-kept secret’ here.”