As a currently enrolled student at Long Beach City College, you are eligible to use psychological services. Once you make an appointment to talk with someone from our counseling psychology staff, here's what you can expect.

For many students, it's a new experience to discuss difficult personal matters with a psychologist. Often students begin by saying, "I'm not sure where to start..." or, "This feels awkward..." Before you begin, here are several things to consider.

In the past, you may have been able to handle the pressures of college, work, and personal life alone. You may have even tried discussing situations with friends, relatives, or others. Sometimes, these people care so much about your well-being that they become over-involved in the situation and lose their ability to give an objective viewpoint. The counseling psychology staff may offer a different perspective, and may help you develop new strategies and solutions. How is this done?

By discussing the topics of concern, you will be helped to clarify:

• the nature and extent of the problem with specific details
• why it's a problem for you now
• how it interferes with your life and progress at LBCC
• how you've tried to deal with it
• what has been successful and what hasn't
• some alternatives acceptable to you
• goals for behavioral and situational changes

When you have outlined a concrete plan of action, you may be assigned specific activities to improve your problem-solving skills and to strengthen your confidence. Your progress toward your self-defined goals usually is hastened by following the recommended activities between your appointments. Your progress will be monitored and you may need to make changes to tailor your work for specific situations. This is important because Psychological Services are limited to short-term consultations on specific problems. In some situations, the problem presented may require more specialized or extended services than can be provided by the College. If this is your situation, you will be given assistance in locating the proper professional.

It is important for you to keep your appointments. If you are unable to keep an appointment, kindly give us 24 hours notice. Due to the large volume of students we see, it may not be possible to reschedule you as soon as you would like. Two consecutive "no shows" will result in you having to use our walk-in times exclusively for the remainder of the semester. If you are 15 minutes late for an appointment, we reserve the right to take another student during your time and you will have to reschedule.