Counseling

Students Come to Us to Discuss a Wide Range of Concerns

The Department of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) offers a range of counseling services designed to enhance the educational, vocational, personal, social and emotional well-being of students at East Stroudsburg University.

The professional staff at CAPS can help you gain the self-knowledge and skills you need to get the most out of life and your experience at ESU. All services are confidential, free of charge, and available to all enrolled students.

Discussions Topics Include...

Schedule an Appointment

To schedule an appointment or to ask questions, you can contact us at (570) 422-3277.

Hours: Monday and Tuesday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Wednesday to Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

How To Get Started

Making an Appointment

Appointments can be made by phone or in person at any point throughout the semester. Appointments cannot be made via email, and need to be made by the person seeking counseling. Every attempt will be made to schedule an appointment as soon as possible. In the case of urgent issues, students will be seen same day.

What to Expect at the Initial Appointment

Paperwork – Upon arrival for the first appointment, the student is asked to fill out electronic forms that gather contact information, demographics and informed consent. In addition, the student will complete a brief questionnaire and assessment of the student’s behaviors, concerns, eating and sleep patterns, etc. This questionnaire goes only to the counselor, who reads it and uses it to get a snapshot of the student’s situation before the session begins. This process takes approximately 15 minutes.

The Intake Interview - The purpose of your initial meeting with a counselor, or intake interview, is to gather information about the reason you are seeking our services and to decide if we can be of benefit to you. It is important to be open and honest during this process. The information you provide will help in your obtaining services that can meet your specific needs. Depending on the nature of your concerns, you may be offered individual counseling, group counseling or both. On occasion, the level of service you require or the particular problem for which you seek help cannot be provided by CAPS. If we are unable to provide the services you need, we will offer off-campus referrals.

Recommendations and next steps – Towards the end of the session the counselor will ask the student to identify their goals for counseling, any questions they may have, and will then summarize what he or she thinks the client had said and provide any recommendations or “next steps.”

FAQ

These are some frequently asked questions about Counseling at ESU. For more information contact (570) 422-3277.

Send Silence Packing

ESU participated in the national Send Silence Packing event for National Suicide Awareness Month, photographed here.

Send Silence Packing is a nationally recognized traveling exhibition of hundreds of donated backpacks, representing the magnitude of college students lost to suicide each year.