Counseling Services

Counseling Overview

NCC Counseling Services are offered at both Bethlehem and Monroe Campuses. Trained professionals are available to help you keep your personal and academic life in balance. Our services include mental health, substance abuse, bilingual, career counseling and academic counseling. They are free to all students, and we maintain strict confidentiality. 

 

Students/Faculty/Staff We do not offer after-hours crisis response, see options below. After hours, for situations that are not urgent, please leave a voice mail and we’ll return your call the next business day.

 

Faculty and Staff - Contact Public Safety at (610.861.5588) if you are concerned about a student after-hours

 

Students- In the case of an urgent situation in which your safety or the safety of others is at risk, call 911. You may also call Northampton County Crisis at 610.252.9060, Carbon, Monroe, Pike County Crisis at 570.992.0879, the Suicide Prevention LifeLine at 988 or 1.800.273.8255, or text PA to 988 or 741741.

 

Suicide Prevention Plan (PDF)

 

Location & Hours

Bethlehem Campus

College Center 341
Monday - Thursday: 8 am - 6 pm, Friday: 8 am - 5 pm

 

Pocono Campus

monroecounseling@northampton.edu
Monday, Thursday: 8 am - 6 pm
Tuesday, Wednesday: 9:30 am - 4:30 pm
Friday: 10:30 am - 2 pm (10 am - 4 pm after September 9)

 

If you have an immediate need to talk to a counselor during any other times between 8am and 6pm, call 570.369.1911.



Our Mission

Our mission is to offer comprehensive counseling and support services to foster the intellectual, emotional, social and cultural development of students. 

Basic Services

Personal Counseling

Are you dealing with issues such as anxiety, family and relationship concerns, body image, depression, academic performance, and alcohol and drug abuse? We can help.

 

Our professionally-trained counseling staff can provide you with short-term, confidential personal counseling. If you think you need longer-term therapy, our staff is skilled at making referrals into the community so that you can get the help you need.

 

Career Exploration

We understand the stress and anxiety that can come with choosing and pursuing your career after graduation. That's why the NCC Counseling and Career Services offices adopted FOCUS 2, a career guidance system that is a self-paced, online career and education planning tool for use by college students and alums. It will enable you to self-assess your career relevant personal qualities and explore career fields and major areas of study that are most compatible with your assessment results. Students and Alums who use FOCUS 2 make better decisions about their goals and plans and learn how to self-manage their careers.

 

Additionally, Career Services offers a host of other free resources including job search directories, professional attire, resume building and more!

 

Contact the Counseling Office at 610.861.5342 or Career Services at 610.861.5344 to speak with someone today.

Emergency Resources

If you are in immediate need of assistance, use this list of resources you can contact for help.

Mental Wellness Resources
Mental Wellness Resources

Learn about the resources we have both on and off campus to support your mental health.

Get Details
Meet the counseling team
Meet the Counselors

Get to know the members our counseling team and their areas of expertise.

Learn More

Myths About Counseling

Fact: Seeking treatment for a mental illness is one of many reasons someone might see a counselor. Some people are seeking self-improvement. Others are dealing with difficult relationships, academic challenges, or college adjustment issues. Others are looking for healthy ways to manage stress. If you are looking for something a little better out of life or your college experience, counseling may be right for you.

Fact: During any semester you are enrolled in credit classes, you are entitled to FREE counseling in the Counseling Center.

Fact: Counselors are bound by ethical and legal guidelines to never disclose what you have talked about in counseling without your permission: they could lose their licenses for doing otherwise! The only cases in which a counselor may be professionally obligated to disclose what you have said in counseling are the following: you report abuse of a child, senior citizen, or person with disability; you are an imminent danger to yourself or others; your records are ordered to be released by a court of law. See our Confidentiality Policy for more details.

Fact: Neither the fact that you have seen a counselor nor anything you say in counseling will ever appear on your academic record. Your current professors and the institutions you attend in the future will never know you are or were in counseling. Your counseling and academic records are completely separate. See our Confidentiality Policy for more details.

Fact: It can take a lot of emotional strength and courage to seek help for problems that may be too overwhelming to manage by yourself.

Fact: Counselors are not able to prescribe psychiatric medications. That is the realm of physicians, physician's assistants, and nurse practitioners. If you are interested in medications, our counselors can refer you to a prescriber in the community. While medications help some people, taking them (or not) is your choice. 

Fact: While friends and family may offer excellent support, they may give advice that reflects their values, not yours, or turn the conversation to themselves when you talk about a problem you are having. Counselors do not give advice: they help you find answers that are right for you, not themselves. They are also trained to listen to you and validate your feelings: they will not interrupt you to say, "That reminds me of when I..." They are unbiased, and, with rare exceptions – see our Confidentiality Policy – anything you say to them will never leave their office.

Fact: The counseling offered at NCC is short-term, typically six to eight sessions. While our counselors will refer students who would like longer-term support to mental health care providers in the community, the six to eight session format is adequate for most students.

Fact: Mental health counselors hold advanced graduate degrees and study for years under the supervision of an experienced counselor. After graduating, counselors receive thousands of hours of supervised practice before becoming licensed and treating clients on their own. Mental health issues are real problems — counselors can address these problems and help clients find relief from issues that are weighing them down.

Fact: Counselors represent a diverse group of people who have unique types of experience, training, specialties, and expertise. No two counselors offer exactly the same treatment: if one counselor does not meet your needs, there are other choices.

Next Steps

With 120+ high-quality programs at a highly affordable cost, you can build specialized skills to advance in your career path — fast. And with flexible class formats and convenient locations, it's never been easier to join us.