Davidson College students are entitled to as many as 10 individual sessions per academic year, at no charge. If more sessions are needed, arrangements can be made, depending on student need and resources. The service is actively utilized at Davidson:  during the course of an academic year, about 20% of the student body at Davidson seeks one or more individual counseling sessions at the Student Counseling Center.

Problems addressed by students in counseling vary greatly. Many are situational in nature, such as roommate problems, academic stress, culture shock and adjustment to returning from study abroad, the death of a grandparent or other family member, and parents' divorce. Others center on academic functioning, including such issues as learning disabilities, study habits and time management. Other problems are more developmental, having to do with the stage of life in which students find themselves. These include such issues as homesickness and problems involved with leaving home and changing relationships with parents, values clarification, need to develop social skills or assertiveness, sexuality issues, premarital issues for couples. Some students have more serious psychological or behavioral problems. These might include depression, alcohol/drug abuse, anxiety and panic disorders, or eating disorders.

(Referral to a private practitioner or hospital can be made, if needed and desired. Although the Student Counseling Center does not have a psychiatrist on staff, arrangements have been made for a private psychiatrist to come to the SCC weekly to see students, at their personal expense.  Harold Elliott, M.D., who is an alumnus of Davidson College and is currently an adjunct faculty member at Wake Forest Behavioral Medicine Center, comes to our facility approximately bi-weekly, typically on Saturdays.)

The Student Counseling Center also provides group counseling and support groups as appropriate and sustained by student participation. For example, the Center has recently had an eating disorder support group and a depression support group.