Date: February 26, 2008
Contact: Lindsay Gladstone
Governors State University
Phone: (708) 534-7090
Fax: (708) 534-8399
Email: l-gladstone@govst.edu
For Immediate Release
University Park, IL, February 26, 2008 – To help guide people to the career that best fits their needs and dreams, the Governors State University Counseling Lab is providing free career counseling.
“Recent high school and college graduates, those recently downsized, or those looking for a more fulfilling job frequently have more career questions than answers,” said Dr. Byron Waller, Co-Clinical Coordinator of the Counseling Lab at GSU. “We offer eight free sessions of career counseling to help those in transition from school or in need of a new direction.”
The Division of Psychology and Counseling at GSU offers free career counseling services as part of its training program for advanced graduate counseling students. Students are studying for their Master of Arts in Counseling. Counseling sessions are conducted on the GSU campus. Sessions may be audio or video taped to assist in the evaluation and learning processes. Faculty members, who are also licensed counselors, supervise the sessions.
“Our counselors provide the client with a career assessment, based on one-on-one interviews, past experience, education, aptitude, and inclinations. Counselors create a life portrait, which helps identify potential career paths,” explains Waller. “People spend more time working than anything else except perhaps sleeping. They should spend some time making the best possible career choice.”
Because career counseling is such an important step in planning for the future, the Counseling Lab offers its services to seventeen year olds with parental permission. “Young people are making important decisions like whether to go to college or trade school, whether to enter the military or get a job. We want them to have the information and tools to make the best choices,” said Waller.
In addition to the career counseling, the lab also offers counseling for a wide range of situations and problems such as parent/child relationships, depression, stress, communication difficulties, loneliness, unemployment, and lack of self-confidence.
“Counseling helps people in so many ways. It is especially important for people to know about the free counseling services available at the university. We want to help as many people as we can,” added Waller.
The Counseling Lab is located at Governors State University, 1 University Parkway, University Park. For more information, call (708) 534-4545.
