Counseling services at the Student Health Center
The Peterson Counseling Center (PCC) provides free, confidential services for Ringling students, including brief individual and group counseling; emergency psychological services; consultation with home and community providers for students with specialized or long-term needs that require specialized off-campus treatment; and outreach and educational programming. The PCC also offers psychological consultation to students, faculty, and staff as well as parents and families who are concerned about a student.
Services
Individual and Group Counseling
We offer several counseling services including short-term one-on-one sessions with a counselor or meeting in a small group. Many students meet with a counselor sporadically throughout their college years as particular concerns arise.
Typical concerns students discuss in personal counseling include:
- Adjusting to college
- Coping with stress
- Confusion, anxiety, or depression
- Dealing with fears
- Family Concerns
- Loneliness
- Romantic concerns
- Balancing academics and social needs
- Self-destructive use of alcohol or drugs
- Loss of a relationship
- Understanding one’s sexuality or gender identity
- Exploring career choice
- Personal trauma such as sexual assault, illness, death of a friend or family member
Small groups of students are occasionally formed for mutual support and shared learning, for example, First Year and Non-Traditional Student Support Groups, Art Therapy, and Depression/Anxiety. Students are encouraged to contact the Counseling Center to find out about more specific groups. For students who come to college with a significant history of mental health needs or otherwise decide they require more frequent, more specialized, or longer-term services that our counseling center can provide, we are happy to work with students to help them find a therapist in the community.
Outreach and Campus Programming
#ResilientYou Campaign
The Peterson Counseling Center at Ringling College of Art and Design currently leads a #ResilientYOU outreach campaign. The #ResilientYOU campaign focuses on improving students’ mental health and recognizes that one of the best ways we can grow and heal as individuals is through supportive, empowering connections that help us know that we are not alone and create meaningful changes in our community.
PACC (Peer Advocates for Creative Care)
The PACC is focused on improving student health and well-being through advocating for a campus culture that encourages creatives to care for themselves and each other. Peer Advocates for Creative Care work closely with the Student Health Center and Peterson Counseling Center to provide input as student leaders and collaborate on the #ResilientYOU outreach campaign. PACC student leaders complete training to become Certified Peer Educators, which helps them to facilitate creative outreach activities and connect with other students to promote health and wellness resources.
Consultation
Occasionally students, faculty, and staff have a concern about the behavior of a student and would like to consult with a professional about what might be done to help the individual. The Counseling Center staff is available to provide assistance and when appropriate explore ways to make an effective referral.
Hours and Contact Information
Appointments
Appointments can be made via our online scheduling platform available through the student portal. To convey personal information, please call 941-893-2855 during regular business hours or come into the Counseling Center Monday-Friday from 8:30 am-4:30 pm to set a time for a session. Students in crisis may be seen as soon as possible for a safety check.
Emergency Contact Info
Email and voicemail are NOT for confidential or time-sensitive information and staff accounts may not be checked on a daily basis; if you need emergency assistance, please call Public Safety at 941-359-7500, or contact local law enforcement using 911. While the College does not provide 24/7 counseling services, in cases of mental health emergencies such as those involving danger of death or harm to self and others the Office of Public Safety is able to reach a Student Life staff member who can assist in making a determination about further evaluation.
Contact Info
The Peterson Counseling Center is located at 2712 Bradenton Rd. in the Student Health Center.
Mailing Address
Ringling College of Art and Design
Peterson Counseling Center
2700 North Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, Florida 34234
Peterson Counseling Center
Mission Statement
The Peterson Counseling Center (PCC) believes that good health is essential for achieving educational objectives and supporting the quality of our students’ educational experience. The Counseling Center strives to enhance the well-being of students by working with students’ families, home providers, community therapists and off-campus providers or specialists, and other campus departments to provide emotional support, impart life skills, and encourage self-reflection. Our purpose is to empower students to navigate their way through the world as individuals with both greater autonomy and effectiveness, and the skills to manage their personal and mental health needs during and after college. We work to create a safe environment that is inclusive and welcoming of all students. We strive to continue to develop relevant expertise, make substantive contributions to the field, and to serve as consultants to the greater campus, promoting an informed, prepared, and safe community.
Our Commitment to Respect for Differences
The staff of the PCC is committed to delivering professional services that respect both individual differences and our common humanity. Our professional guidelines and personal values call us to recognize prejudice, privilege, and discrimination in all of its forms including but not limited to gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, sexual orientation, disability status, socioeconomic status, and more, and to become aware of the effects on individuals and groups to which those individuals belong. We seek to apply this commitment in all of our professional activities and to support the growth of communities that work better for everyone.
Our mission is closely aligned with the larger Office of Student Life, which provides a variety of programs and services designed to promote the artistic development, academic success, personal growth, and overall well-being of the student body, and aims to support the broader mission of Ringling College, which “Through its policies and practices, supports excellence in teaching and fosters the aesthetic, intellectual, professional, personal, and social development of its students.”
Referrals
Psychiatry and Psychopharmacological Referrals
While classes are in session, we have a psychiatrist available for limited hours several times a month in the on-campus Health Center.
Prescriptions
For students interested in exploring medication as an option to help with short- or long-term mental health concerns, they can contact the counseling center to set up a REQUIRED REFERRAL appointment with a college counseling center staff member. Transferring prescriptions from a home psychiatrist is welcomed, through a referral from one of our mental health counselors is required in all cases.
For students with existing prescriptions, or those who are receiving continued care from home providers which many students continue to do, please let your therapist know so all providers may communicate. By working as a team with your existing provider, we are able to provide the most complete service and ensure a higher continuity of care for you. If you are receiving medication, please continue to stay in contact with your existing provider regularly via phone and during breaks as possible for medication management, and let your therapist know about any changes to your medication.
Off-Campus Referrals
Off-campus referrals for local psychiatrists can also be provided upon request for students requiring more specialized treatment. Controlled substance prescriptions are not prescribed by the psychiatrist on site. Our goal is to help support your total health and long-term success. Students with ADHD diagnoses or other disorders requiring controlled substances should ensure they have a complete learning evaluation (which includes 4-6 hours of testing) from an off-campus psychologist within the past three years (a diagnosis from a GP is not sufficient). The counseling center can be helpful in providing lists of local psychologists who provide such testing. If you are being prescribed medication of any kind please ensure that your medication is locked up when unattended and remains in the original containers at all times.
Community Providers
If there is a need for an off-campus mental health provider in the community, Peterson Counseling Center staff can assist with providing referrals.
Emergency Care
Crisis Intervention
The Counseling Center provides 24-hour Crisis Intervention Services throughout the academic year. The Counseling Center’s Clinical Staff provides emergency services to students who are experiencing acute emotional distress, are a danger to themselves or others, or require immediate intervention or hospitalization. In an emergency, the student should contact their Resident Assistant, Associate Dean of Residence Life, Administrator on Duty, or Public Safety at 941-359-7500.
Sarasota Area Inpatient Mental Health Facilities
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger of harming themselves please call 911 or visit the local Emergency Room. ER staff, after providing an assessment, can facilitate transport to Cornell Behavioral Health or Lightshare Behavioral Wellness and Recovery.
Cornell Behavioral Health Pavilion
1625 South Osprey Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34239
941-917-7760
Lightshare Behavioral Wellness and Recovery
The Kreisman Center CSU
1451 10th Street, Sarasota, FL 34236
941-732-6837
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