Since 1990, the Women's Center has offered counseling services to men and women individually, as well as to couples. Free, confidential support groups are also available.

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Tips from the Women's Center for a Mentally Healthy Holiday Season
Charlotte Chapman, LPC, the Director of Counseling Services at the Women's Center, has generated this helpful list of "Tips for a Mentally Healthy Holiday Season." Read about how you can help ensure happy holidays for you and your loved ones.

Counseling Services

Since 1990, the Women's Center has offered individual, couples, and group counseling services to University of Virginia students, faculty, and staff, as well as to members of the Charlottesville community. Counseling is offered for both men and women individually, as well as for couples. We offer clients an empowerment-based counseling model through which we integrate evidence-based practice with a person-centered approach. We support survivors of all genders who have experienced rape; sexual assault; stalking; domestic violence; emotional, psychological, and verbal abuse; as well as other concerns. Additionally, we are available to support survivors' friends, family members, and significant others.

The counseling staff at the Women's Center is composed of advanced master's students and doctoral degree candidates in counselor education. You may call our office at 434-982-2252, Monday–Thursday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. to schedule an appointment with one of our clinicians.

Body Positive at U.Va.: Information about eating, body image, and exercise concerns; disordered eating; and eating disorders.

What is the Counseling Process?

Individual, couples, and group counseling services are available for U.Va. students, staff, faculty, and alumni, as well as members of the Charlottesville community. Some people my initially feel hesitant about seeking counseling services. They worry that coming in for counseling may indicate that something is “wrong” with them. However, most people who come in for counseling report that it is a very positive and productive experience and often recommend it to their friends. The counseling staff is trained to work with you on a wide range of issues. Here is a partial list of common client concerns:

• Depression
• Homesickness
• Stress
• Anxiety
• Alcohol or drugs
• Eating concerns
• Academic anxieties
• Roommate and friendship problems
• Family problems
• Sexual concerns
• Identity concerns

When you call the counseling office, a clinician will gather some basic information from you. You will then be asked to schedule an appointment, or you will be added to our waiting list. Your first appointment is called an "intake" and is scheduled for one hour. When you arrive for your appointment, you will be asked to fill out a few forms in order to gather information about you and your concerns. The intake session is the time for you to tell the story about what brought you to the Women’s Center for help at this time of your life.

At the end of the first session, the counselor will help you to summarize your concerns and identify some goals for counseling. This is when you and the counselor will clarify if your needs will be met with individual, couples and/or group counseling, and you will make a follow-up appointment that fits your schedule. In some cases you and your counselor might determine that your needs would be better served by another agency or service provider. If this is the case, your counselor will help you to make the necessary arrangements. The Women’s Center does not provide crisis counseling and does not have 24 hour coverage available for counseling services.

The number of counseling sessions and length of the sessions vary based on client needs, but typically 10 sessions seem to be helpful and most sessions last 50 minutes. If you are going to be late for a session or need to miss a session we ask that you call to let your counselor know. To cancel a session, please give at least 24 hours notice so that other clients who are waiting for services can be offered your cancelled time.

Confidentiality: Information you disclose in clinical sessions is confidential and may not be released to anyone outside of the Counseling Services Program/Graduate Program faculty without your written permission. The Women’s Center adheres to professional, legal, and ethical guidelines established by professional organizations and state laws. Legal and ethical exceptions to confidentiality are provided to clients in writing and will be discussed in your intake session. Sessions are audio-taped for the educational needs of the counseling interns. This will also be discussed with you in your intake session.

Group Counseling

Group counseling: Group counseling consists of several people meeting with a counselor to discuss common concerns and life issues. Group members give feedback and support to each other in a safe environment. The first few sessions of a group typically focus on establishing trust and getting to know the counselor and group members. Group trust is achieved when all members make a commitment to the group.

Group counseling can be helpful in several ways: Members experience the feeling of not being alone while working through their personal concerns. Members have an opportunity to help each other and receive feedback about communication skills and other behaviors, both of which can be be rewarding and enable positive changes in other relationship patterns. Group experience can increase self-awareness as well as offer a safe place to practice new behaviors.

Guidelines for participating in groups at the Women’s Center: Anyone interested in a group needs to schedule an intake appointment with the group counselor at least two weeks prior to the start date of the group. The group counselor will discuss with you whether the group is the best way to meet your needs and, if it is, the counselor will provide you with information about the group, such as meeting dates and times. You are expected to make every effort to attend all group sessions and to provide at least 24 hours notice if you will be absent from a group. Anyone participating in a group is expected to respect the confidentiality of all other group members. All of this will be discussed further in your first group meeting.

Any questions about group counseling should be directed to Charlotte Chapman, Director of Counseling Services, cmc5nq@virginia.edu.

Current Groups

Getting through the Holidays: A Support Group for U.Va. Students
Have you experienced a change in your family or other relationships that is causing you to feel anxiety about going home for the holidays? A death, illness, divorce, remarriage, or break-up are just a few examples of changes that could make holiday rituals difficult.

Join other U.Va. students for a three session support group on Monday November 7, November 14, and December 2 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 pm at the U.Va. Women’s Center. The group will discuss issues concerning family and other relationship changes and their impact on holiday stress. The group will also focus on developing strategies for navigating through a difficult holiday experience.

To find out more, or to register for the group, please contact: Margaret Edwards or Barbara Burke at the U.Va. Women’s Center Counseling Services office at 434.982.2252. Registration will take place through November 1st.

Current Staff

Margaret Edwards, the trauma services counselor (in residency), provides individual and group counseling to U.Va. students, staff, faculty, and area community residents. She earned her M.A. and Ed.S. in clinical mental health counseling from the University of Virginia, an M.A. in international relations from the John Hopkins University of Advanced International Studies, and a B.A. from the College of William and Mary. She earned her nationally certified counselor (NCC) credential in 2009, and is working toward Virginia state licensure. Her work focuses on helping clients who have experienced interpersonal violence, sexual assault, and stalking. She also works with clients on issues such as grief and loss, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, career development, and relationship concerns.

Contact: me8n@virginia.edu, 434-982-2252

Due to a generous contribution from U.Va. alumni, the Counseling Services program has been able to continue to fund this position.

Barbara Burke is a graduate counseling student from Eastern Mennonite University completing her internship at the Women's Center.

Contact: 434-982-2252

Mark DeNoble is a graduate counseling student from James Madison University completing his internship at the Women's Center.

Contact: 434-982-2252

Charlotte Chapman is the Director of Counseling Services at the Women’s Center. Charlotte is a licensed professional counselor and a licensed substance abuse treatment provider with thirty years of experience working with women and adolescents. She has her Master's Degree in Counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University. Charlotte provides supervision for Counseling Services and the Eating Disorders Education Initiative (EDEI).

Contact: cmc5nq@virginia.edu, 434-982-2903

For more information go to www.chapmantraining.com.

Thank You

We would like to thank the U.Va. Parent's Program for their generous donation, made in fall 2010, which will go towards buying materials for clients served by the Counseling Services Program. We are appreciative of this support!

 

The Women's Center offers free and confidential counseling for U.Va. students, faculty, staff, and Charlottesville community members. For more information and to schedule an appointment, call 434-982-2252.

Getting to the Center

The Women's Center is located at the intersection of University Avenue and 14th Street across from the U.Va. Corner.

 

Address: 1400 University Avenue, Charlottesville, VA 22903

 

The Women's Center is #8 (square E-2) on this U.Va. web map. Click here for full maps of the U.Va. Grounds.

 

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