Our lives have not been the same since the COVID-19 pandemic started. But the mental health support the Texas Wesleyan University Community Counseling Center provides has not changed. Its student counselors, along with faculty and staff, continue to train the next generation of counselors by providing virtual services for more than 320 clients.

Helping While Apart

“We have had to eliminate in-person counseling sessions due to the pandemic. We have worked very hard to switch over to a virtual counseling system for our student counselors, campus clients and community clients,” said J. Scott Methvin, M.Ed., LPC-S, LMFT, LCDC, the center’s clinical director. “We give access to virtual counseling via video conferencing platforms and provide phone counseling for those that do not have access to video conferencing services.”

For those who are choosing to wait for in-person sessions to resume, the center is providing wellness checks where a student counselor calls regularly to check in on their clients. And these services come at a great time, as Methvin says more community members have been asking for help. 

“We have seen an increase in counseling service requests for students that are experiencing challenges in dealing with the many stressors related to the pandemic. We also have experienced an increase in couple and family counseling requests,” Methvin said. 

The Student Experience

Student counselors continue to get invaluable training in the field with help from their expert faculty members. “Master's students attend 3 hours of practicum class each week, plus an additional hour of group supervision each week. Cases are discussed with the Program Ph.D. faculty who are approved supervisors of The American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy,” said Mike Bishop, associate professor of graduate counseling.

The Community Counseling Center is open for virtual services from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturdays. Call 817-531-4859 or email TWCCC@txwes.edu for more.