As indicated in the Personal Counseling Center's Mission / Vision Statement, this office is located within a liberal arts educational institution. It may therefore be asked: "How is the Personal Counseling Center grounded in the liberal arts and sciences?"
Response: Our therapeutic / philosophical approach to working with students is focused on helping them comprehend the relevance of their current problematic dilemma (for which they seek counseling) to the world beyond the here and now. We certainly do assist them with exploring pragmatic alternatives in order to increase the likelihood of their resolving the reason for their (self) referral, help them set realistic goals, and monitor their progress toward those goals. But more than that, we seek to have them discover their philosophy of life, their way of being in the world, and the critical role of their thought process in determining whether they will reach their potential. To use the vernacular, our ultimate goal is not to give a fish (i.e. “advice”) to those students who come for counseling, but rather, we seek to have them learn how to fish (i.e. discover their phenomenology of mind) with exquisite lures.
