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Counseling Services

Counseling Services provides free, confidential, solution-focused brief mental health therapy to enrolled NIC students. For students who may benefit from other forms of counseling and/or long-term services, counseling services will attempt to make referrals to additional resources in their local community.

To make an appointment, call (208) 665-4520.

Reasons Students Might Seek Counseling Services

Students might seek counseling services for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to:

  • Poor grades or difficulties completing assigned work
  • Adjustment to college or coping with life in college
  • Feeling anxious, depressed or stressed
  • Relationship difficulties, domestic violence or child and childcare issues
  • Suicidal thoughts or wanting to purposely injure self
  • Alcohol and drug issues
  • Financial, transportation, housing or food challenges
  • Undiagnosed disabilities
  • Eating disorders and body image concerns
  • Questions about sexuality
  • Sexual/physical assault or acquaintance rape
  • Oppression or bullying
  • Sleep disturbance
  • Learning to manage anger, grief and other emotions
  • Family problems

Student Counseling FAQs

Counseling may include career development issues, but its focus is primarily on identifying and resolving personal problems that jeopardize your college success. Your success may not depend on counseling but discussing your concerns with a counselor can be very effective in finding solutions to difficult problems. There is little risk in counseling except that it may facilitate changes in your life. 

Any North Idaho College student enrolled in credit courses may receive free counseling as part of the services paid for in student fees. Dual-credit high school students do not pay fees and are not eligible for services. Successful counseling will require only your honest participation and your willingness to work with your counselor to resolve the problems presented or discovered. Keeping scheduled appointments or contacting your counselor in advance of necessary cancellations will be part of your commitment to counseling.

The NIC counseling staff is made up of qualified clinical therapists with master’s degrees in counseling or supervised interns who are in the final stages of earning their counseling degree. They are all friendly, open, caring and eager to help you. Your counselor will meet with you for two to four scheduled sessions (usually 50-minute sessions), listen carefully to what you have to say, help you clarify your concerns and offer strategies to address those concerns. Counseling objectives include stabilizing crisis situations, teaching crisis prevention skills, offering short-term support for any issue or concern and arranging referrals for any needed medical psychotherapeutic treatment or long-term support.

All information you share within the counseling relationship is confidential, except in the following situations:

  • If you sign a release of information form requesting or agreeing to the release of information to other specified people;
  • If you become a danger to yourself or to others, requiring the counselor to take any necessary action to prevent harm;
  • If consultation with counseling supervision, other NIC counselors or an NIC treatment team of counselors and medical professionals is needed to assure your quality care;
  • If a court orders the release of information to serve the cause of justice; or

If there is knowledge or suspicion of child or elder abuse (state law requires reporting).