Visiting the Broene Counseling Center

Our Purpose

It is our desire to help students get the most of their college years. We recognize that college years can be very gratifying and enjoyable, but also very difficult and stressful. It’s a time of tremendous challenge and transition. We exist to help students cope with the difficult times and use them for personal, emotional, and spiritual growth.

Why seek help?

Seeking help is better than “going it alone”. College students are not immune from the stressors and pressures of life. If anything, college students feel these stressors more. Seeking help from a professional can give perspective that is hard to come by when you try to struggle through things on your own.

Who seeks help?

Last year over 680 Calvin students came in for at least one appointment to the Broene Counseling Center. Can you believe it? That’s about 14% of the entire student body! Some came for one appointment. Many others had several sessions, but the good news is that students are using us and have found out that good things can come out of seeking help!

The cost

There is no cost for counseling services. This is a marvelous benefit for Calvin students. Similar services in the community will cost between $90 to $115 per hour.

Our services

The Broene Counseling Center offers a variety of counseling and psychological services including:

1. Individual Counseling
2. Group Counseling
3. Couples Counseling
4. Premarital Counseling
5. Workshops, presentations
6. Psychiatric Consultation
7. Referral
8. Consultation to Faculty and Staff

Individual Counseling is all about exploring concerns in a safe atmosphere and “partnering” with a professional therapist who can listen and lend his/her expertise to each individual’s unique concerns and circumstances. By working with a caring, objective, and non-judgmental professional, students have an opportunity to struggle with complex, often perplexing issues and concerns. They often come to a better understanding of themselves. They and their therapist seek for solutions together. This deeper self-awareness can then enable clients to make healthier, more informed choices and enhance their personal and academic lives. The number of counseling sessions is dependent on the scope of the concerns and is ideally mutually determined by both the student and his/her counselor.

Group Counseling most often involves several students who share similar concerns or life circumstances coming together to meet with a therapist and/or co-therapist. The support, feedback, and dialogue that develops in group counseling are often very beneficial in developing awareness, promoting change, and reducing feelings of isolation.

Couples Counseling involves a couple meeting with a counselor to address relationship concerns. These might have to do with conflict resolution, communication, intimacy, or other issues. Couples counseling can be helpful both for couples who are married and for couples who are not married but are looking for and needing some objective help in dealing with relationship issues which concern them.

Premarital Counseling involves a therapist meeting with a couple who intend to marry in the near future. The purpose of premarital counseling is to help the couple get off on the “right foot” when it comes to marriage. Premarital counseling has several goals. First, couples get a chance to “take inventory” of their current relationship, its strengths and areas for growth. Often, a standardized premarital inventory can be taken and interpreted which can facilitate dialogue. Second, couples can be helped to learn communication and conflict resolution skills. Finally, couples can examine expectations around issues such as finances, future parenting, dealings with their respective families of origins, etc.

Workshops and Presentations are able to be done by Broene Counseling Center staff. Our staff has a broad expertise on a number of topics and issues. Some of them include depression, anxiety, eating disorders, relationship problems, loss and grief, and many others.

Psychiatric Consultation involves a student meeting with a psychiatrist for purposes of further evaluation and consideration of possible medication. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who specializes in psychiatry. While medication by itself is usually not the only solution for depression and anxiety, it nevertheless is often a very helpful and necessary part of treatment for students. Our psychiatrist is skilled in being able to determine the extent to which students might benefit from medication.

Referral involves a Broene counselor educating a student about resources both within the Calvin community and external to the Calvin community. Referrals can be made to Health Services on campus, for example, for students who might benefit from a medical consultation. Referrals can also be made to community therapists or other professionals. The Broene Counseling Center has access to a number of reputable health and mental health providers both within and external to Calvin.

Consultation involves being available to staff and faculty and family members when they are concerned about a student. Staff and faculty are able to speak with us about a student and his/her behavior without giving us their name. Doing so can help faculty and staff intervene and talk with the student. It can also help determine whether further assistance or counseling might be indicated. Faculty and staff can also be guided as to how to speak with the student about which they are concerned. Similarly, family members can share their concerns about a student and receive appropriate input and feedback.)

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