Anxiety • Depression • Life Transitions • Identity • Stress Management
Online Therapy for Auburn University College Students
You Thought You Were Ready for This. So Why Does It Feel Like You Are Falling Apart?
You have been dreaming about Auburn for years. Maybe you grew up coming to games at Jordan-Hare Stadium, tailgating with your family, rolling Toomer's Corner after a big win. Maybe you always knew you wanted to be part of the Auburn family — the traditions, the community, the feeling of something bigger than yourself. Or maybe you did not find Auburn until your senior year of high school, visited campus, and just knew. Either way, you worked hard to get here. You were excited. College was supposed to be the beginning of everything.
And in some ways, it is. But it is also harder than anyone told you it would be.
The freedom you were so excited about has turned into a relentless stream of decisions, expectations, and pressure that never seems to let up. You are navigating classes at Haley Center, figuring out Greek life or athletics or where you even fit on a campus this size, deciding on a major, managing relationships, and trying to figure out who you actually are — all at once. Everyone around you looks like they are handling it just fine. You are not sure you are.
That gap between how Auburn looks and how it actually feels is one of the most common — and most unspoken — experiences of this season. You are not behind. You are not broken. And you do not have to figure it out alone.
At Empower Counseling, we offer online therapy for Auburn University students throughout Alabama. Because you are living in Auburn, you are required to see a therapist licensed in the state of Alabama — and that is exactly what we are. Sessions are available entirely online, so you can meet from your dorm in the Village, your apartment on The Boulevard or The Avenue, or anywhere private. No commute, no driving to Birmingham, no adding one more thing to an already full schedule.
You May Recognize Yourself Here
Auburn stress does not always look like a breakdown. More often it looks like pushing through, performing fine on the outside, and quietly feeling like you are unraveling on the inside. You might relate to:
- Feeling overwhelmed by how much there is to figure out — classes, social life, your major, your future — all at once
- Not knowing who you are outside of who you have always been expected to be
- Anxiety that makes it hard to focus in class, sleep at night, or stop running worst-case scenarios
- A low, heavy feeling that is hard to shake — even on a beautiful day on the Plains
- The pressure of Greek life, athletics, or other communities where everyone seems confident and put-together
- Relationships — friendships, romantic relationships, family — that feel more complicated than you expected
- Trouble deciding on a major or career path when everyone else seems to have a plan
- Family and societal expectations pulling you in one direction while something inside pulls you in another
- Carrying something difficult — a loss, a past trauma, a hard experience — far from home and without enough support
- Looking fine from the outside and feeling completely unlike yourself on the inside
You do not have to be in crisis to deserve support. If any of this sounds familiar, reaching out is the right thing to do.
Our Approach to Therapy for Auburn Students
The transition to Auburn is one of the most significant of your life — and one of the most underestimated. You are not just learning a subject. You are building an identity, navigating independence for the first time, renegotiating every relationship in your life, and trying to make decisions about a future that does not feel entirely real yet. That is an enormous amount to carry, even in a place as special as Auburn.
Therapy at Empower begins where you are. Not where you think an Auburn student should be. Not with a checklist of goals to accomplish. Where you are right now — even if right now feels like a fog you cannot find your way out of.
Our therapists work with an approach called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). In practice, what that means for you is this: you will not be asked to have it all figured out before therapy can help. Instead, you will get clarity — about who you actually are, what actually matters to you, and what has been getting in the way of moving toward it. That clarity becomes the foundation for everything else: the decisions, the relationships, the sense of direction that feels so elusive right now.
All sessions are conducted online — 50 minutes, once a week, from wherever you are in Auburn. No driving to Birmingham, no hunting for parking, no losing half your afternoon to a commute.
Understanding What You Are Going Through
Every Auburn student arrives here differently. Some come knowing exactly what is wrong. Others come knowing only that something is off and they cannot keep white-knuckling through it alone. Either way, you are welcome here.
Below is a closer look at what we most commonly help Auburn students navigate — not as a checklist, but as a way of saying: we see this, we understand it, and we know how to help.
Anxiety
Anxiety at Auburn can look like test anxiety before a big exam, social anxiety navigating Greek life or a new friend group, or a generalized worry that follows you everywhere — from Haley Center to your apartment — no matter what you do. It can also look like being the most prepared, high-functioning person in the room while feeling like you are barely holding it together inside. Learn more about anxiety therapy at Empower →
Depression
Depression at Auburn is more common than most students realize — and more isolating, because it tends to arrive exactly when you are supposed to be having the time of your life. It can look like persistent sadness, numbness, low motivation, losing interest in things you used to care about, or simply a heaviness that does not lift — even on a game day. You do not have to keep pushing through it alone. Learn more about depression therapy at Empower →
Life Transitions and Identity
Auburn asks you to figure out who you are at the exact moment everything familiar has been removed. Who you are outside of your hometown, your family, your high school identity. What you actually believe, what you actually want, what kind of person you want to become. Struggling with these questions is not a sign something is wrong with you. It is a sign you are taking them seriously — and therapy is one of the best places to work through them.
Relationship Struggles
Whether it is navigating a new friend group, the dynamics of Greek life, a romantic relationship that is more complicated than you expected, or the shifting relationship with your parents as you become more independent — relationships at Auburn can be a significant source of both meaning and pain. Therapy can help you build the communication skills, self-esteem, and boundaries to have the kinds of relationships you actually want.
Stress and Overwhelm
Between academics, social life, extracurriculars, and the pressure of figuring out your future, the demands on an Auburn student are genuinely high. Stress management is not about caring less about any of it. It is about learning to prioritize, protect your energy, and build habits that make it possible to show up for what matters — without running on empty all the time.
Grief, Loss, and Trauma
Losing someone while you are away at Auburn — physically separated from the people who knew them too — is a particular kind of loneliness. So is carrying a past trauma in a new environment, without the context and people that used to hold it. Whatever you are carrying, you do not have to carry it alone. Nearly two thirds of college students experience sexual harassment, and more than 20 percent of female college students experience sexual assault — with the vast majority never reporting it. If this is part of your story, support is available and you deserve it.
You Are Not Alone
Most Auburn students who are struggling believe they are the only ones. The culture of campus life — everyone performing confidence, connection, and War Eagle spirit — makes it almost impossible to see the reality: that a significant number of the students around you are feeling exactly the same way, and saying nothing about it.
Why So Many Auburn Students Never Seek Help
The most common reasons students do not reach out are the ones that feel most convincing: they think they should be able to handle this on their own. They worry about what their friends — their sorority, their fraternity, their teammates — would think. They do not know whether what they are experiencing is serious enough to warrant support.
None of those reasons make seeking help less necessary. And online therapy removes one of the biggest barriers entirely: no one sees you walking into an office. You meet from your dorm room, your apartment, or anywhere private in Auburn. Your session fits between classes. No one has to know unless you choose to tell them.
1 in 3
college students report significant depression, anxiety, or other mental health concerns affecting their academic performance. (American College Health Association)
40%
of college students never seek help for mental health struggles — most commonly because they do not think their problems are serious enough. (NAMI)
Why Online Therapy Works for Auburn University Students
Research consistently shows that online therapy is as effective as in-person therapy for anxiety, depression, life transitions, and most of the challenges Auburn students face. And for students specifically, it removes nearly every barrier that typically gets in the way of consistent care.
There is no drive to Birmingham, no parking situation to navigate, no losing an afternoon to a commute. Each session is 50 minutes, once a week, from wherever you are — your dorm in the Village, your apartment at 191 College or The Standard, a quiet spot between classes. You fit it into your schedule rather than rearranging your life around it.
There is also the matter of choice. Online therapy opens up your options beyond whatever is available near campus. Auburn University does offer counseling services, but availability is limited and wait times can be long. At Empower, you are working with a therapist who specializes in the challenges of this specific season — not a generalist with a full caseload and a six-week wait.
One important note: in Alabama, you are required to see a therapist who is licensed in the state where you are physically located. As an Auburn student living in Alabama, you need an Alabama-licensed therapist. Empower Counseling is based in Birmingham and licensed throughout the state — which means we can see you wherever you are in Auburn.
You are not alone. Let's begin.
You do not have to keep carrying this alone.
Whatever you are navigating right now — the anxiety, the fog, the uncertainty about who you are and where you are going, the exhaustion of performing fine when you are not — support is available, and clarity is possible. The hardest part is reaching out. Everything after that, we will figure out together. War Eagle.