Counseling for University of Alabama Students with Empower Counseling.
It has been another difficult year for college students at the University of Alabama. Some things on campus have been back to normal…like tailgating on the quad near Denny Chimes and watching games at Bryant-Denny Stadium. But college students are still feeling the pressure and uncertainty of living in a world with Covid-19.
It has been almost two years since our country shut down due to Covid-19 concerns. It has been 2 very long years for everyone. But if you are a college student who only gets 4 years in school, two years can seem like a lifetime. If you are a freshman or sophomore in college at the University of Alabama, you don’t even know what a “normal college experience” is.
I currently have several University of Alabama clients. Some come to in-person counseling and others prefer online counseling. No matter where we are in-person or online, I am hearing clients report that it is the uncertainty of what will happen next in the world creating high anxiety levels. Whether she is the freshman or sophomore who wonders if she will ever have that “normal” or expected college experience or he is the junior or senior wondering if he will find a job, it is clear students are feeling the pressure. When you put yourself on a timeline with a deadline, which is easy for a college student to do because the college experience is limited, the pressure increases and it is difficult to think about anything else. When you are worried about what is going to happen next, and if the pandemic is going to rob you of all of your college years, it is difficult to focus on your studies. It is difficult to stay in the present moment and enjoy yourself.
These experiences are completely and totally normal. The problem is that college students tend to think they are alone in their anxieties and insecurities, which makes them feel isolated. If they do isolate, anxiety can quickly be compounded by depression.
Counseling for University of Alabama students with Empower Counseling can help.
Our counselors are trained in Acceptance Commitment Therapy. Acceptance Commitment Therapy is more than just talking and getting things off of your chest to temporarily feel better. Acceptance Commitment Therapy is about lasting, positive change.
In my experience, Acceptance Commitment Therapy is especially effective for college students.
Even without the uncertainty that Covid-19 brings to the table, college can be a difficult time of transition.
Before college, we live at home and follow others’ rules about how to live life. Often, we don’t get to have much influence on our own lives. We have parents, teachers, clergy, all guiding us and helping us to live by their rules. Even with wonderful family and other support systems, college can be a struggle because college is a time to move away from family and what we have been taught to think, into our own thoughts and ideas of what life should be like for us. This transition is difficult to navigate in the best of times. During Covid it is by far more difficult.
Counseling for University of Alabama students with Empower Counseling can help. Our trained, compassionate female and male counselors use Acceptance Commitment Therapy to help your student navigate the transition from adolescent to young adult. We help your student achieve higher levels of self awareness, gaining clarity about what she values and how to take action toward it. We at Empower Counseling have had so many University of Alabama students beginning counseling feeling insecure, anxious, and disconnected. These same clients “graduate” from counseling feeling confident, at peace, and self-assured.
We are taking new clients, whether in person or for online counseling. Empower Counseling specializes in ACT for anxiety and depression, along with difficult life transitions.
We also specialize in helping college students at the University of Alabama, Auburn University, Samford, and Birmingham-Southern College.
Reach out to Empower today to help your college student. 205-730-6570.