North Texas Daily

Steven James / Intern Writer

Funded through the Student Service Fee as a part of tuition, UNT Counseling and Testing Services offers up to eight sessions per year for students enrolled in classes at the university.

The Counseling Center offers various counseling services and helps thousands of students every year.

“We offer personal counseling, couples counseling, group counseling and paper-based tests,” administrative specialist Georgianna Stone said. “There is also a counselor here who lets people pet dogs as a form of relaxation.”

She said she knows that many students across campus experience stress on a daily basis, and some control their stress better than others.

Some of the students that come in for sessions at the center are considered “in crisis.”

“The term ‘in crisis’ means different things to certain people,” she said. “To me, it’s what a student feels when he feels so threatened that he can’t wait to talk, that he might hurt himself or that he’ll feel like burning out.”

Development and family studies freshman Trishton Carroll is a student assistant at the center. He said he too thinks that the meaning of being “in crisis” is open to interpretation.

“Being in crisis is different for different people because each person is their own individual,” Carroll said. “Two people are unlikely to handle equal amounts of stress.”

Carroll said the most important part of his job is making sure students get the help they need so they can function better in school.

“We’re here to help students,” he said. “Most students come in here feeling the need to speak to someone, and we’re here to do just that.”

Hospitality management senior Marco Arce said he has had to deal with stress ever since he and his family moved to the United States from Mexico in 2006.

“We didn’t have very much money, and I didn’t really know English,” Arce said. “This has motivated me to set really high goals for myself, like becoming a successful businessman.”

Arce said he likes setting high goals for himself even though it fuels his high stress levels.

He said he enjoys using the counseling center because he feels safe and at ease talking to the counselors about himself.

“I’m not comfortable talking about my personal life with most people, but I am with the counselors,” he said. “Talking to the counselors at the counseling center is a way for me to talk about my problems to others who aren’t biased and won’t judge.”

He said he also attends sessions at the center to alleviate the stress he encounters from running his own business.

“I have my own business, which I really love, but sometimes I get overwhelmed and it causes me to be blinded by stress,” Arce said. “This is a tool for expressing myself.”

The Counseling Center and Testing Services is located in Chestnut Hall suite 311.

The health and wellness center is located  on Chestnut St. on UNT campus. Feature photo by Porschia Paxton / Intern