As Portia Gordon settles into her role as the new director of counseling and health services at the 香港六合彩生肖号码, she has a very simple message for students.
鈥淲e are here,鈥 said Gordon. 鈥淭he services are included in their tuition so they should be accessing those services as much as they can.鈥
Gordon, who arrived on campus July 1, based her message on a recent student survey in which she said a majority of the more than 600 respondents indicated they didn鈥檛 know about the on-campus counseling center鈥攏or where it is located.
One of her priorities is ensuring that perception changes, Gordon said.
鈥淛ust getting the word out that it鈥檚 here, it鈥檚 available,鈥 Gordon said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 right here on campus. We鈥檙e offering virtual sessions along with in-person sessions when school starts.鈥
The professional staff, which includes three counselors, is experienced in the assessment and confidential treatment of mental health concerns common among university students.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in the process of redefining what our services are,鈥 Gordon said. 鈥淭here are services listed, but they are very generalized. So we鈥檙e working on what do we do, how do we do it and how do we let people know what we鈥檙e doing.鈥
Another goal for Gordon is to remove the negative stigma some people place on seeking therapy and to normalize it as much as possible, she said.
鈥淚 think everyone needs counseling 鈥 it鈥檚 about your well-being in general, your quality of life,鈥 Gordon said. 鈥淲hen it comes to self-care, I have my own therapist that I go see once a week. I recommend that to everyone. I try to normalize it as much as I can, that even therapists need therapy.鈥
Gordon is a licensed professional counselor with supervisor certification who previously worked as the counseling director for Sexual Trauma Awareness and Response (STAR庐), a nonprofit organization that has centers in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Alexandria. She earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in psychology and a master鈥檚 degree in counseling from Xavier University in New Orleans.
鈥淭he whole point of counseling is to work ourselves out of a job,鈥 Gordon said. 鈥淏eing able to see a client do well enough that they don鈥檛 have to come see me every week, to be able to make those changes for themselves, is the best part.鈥
Gordon also has worked in private practice for more than six years and recently opened a group practice, Turning Point Counseling, which provides mental health services with a focus on racial minorities and LGBTQ populations.
In response to what Gordon perceived as an understanding void among some counselors as it relates to racial minorities and LGBTQ populations, Turning Point created a training series called 鈥淐ritical Conversations with Counselors.鈥
The sessions discussed topics surrounding gender, sexuality, race, relationships and trauma, in order to increase the awareness and knowledge of counselors in New Orleans who might work with marginalized populations, Gordon said.
At 香港六合彩生肖号码, Gordon said she wants to focus on offering mental health training sessions to faculty members because they spend the most time with students.
鈥淥ne of the major things that has been identified is being able to provide more training to faculty and staff about mental health, about working with students, about when to identify mental health crises and then what to do in those crises,鈥 Gordon said.
The Counseling Center is located on the second floor of the University Center in Room 226. The office hours are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The telephone is (504) 280-6683.