Student Counseling Center

The mission of the Indiana State University Student Counseling Center is to provide ISU students with timely and effective mental health services that allow them to improve and maintain their mental well-being and therefore to meet their educational, personal, emotional, and psychological goals. We also provide outreach and consultation services that help create supportive learning and living environments, while at the same time addressing students' developmental needs to help them become effective and productive citizens.

To provide students with the necessary life skills to mature and attain their highest performance, while achieving optimum happiness during their attendance at ISU.

Our mission and primary goal are achieved through the use of a combined clinical and developmental approach to short- and long-term individual and group counseling. This approach provides consultation, psychological assessment, and proactive outreach education in developing healthy lifestyles for the university student during their stay at Indiana State University.

The SCC does not offer treatment for all emotional or psychological disorders, particularly those disorders that are chronic, severe, or involving the high risk of harm to self or others, including severe personality or psychotic disorders, and severe substance abuse or recovery. Clients needing extended treatment or special services beyond those offered at the SCC will be referred to competent resources in the Terre Haute community.

At the Student Counseling Center, our staff and services follow a set of values that guide work with ISU students and the ISU community.

The Student Counseling Center (SCC) is considered a “health service provider” by the State of Indiana. As such, all services are confidential, including the identities, information about, and all records kept on student clients/patients. Our staff cannot reveal nor confirm the identity of students seeking SCC services, their participation in those services, nor the content of communications with those students to those outside the SCC staff without the student’s knowledge and written consent. Information about a student’s use of counseling services is kept separately from their academic record.

Students may sign a written release granting their counselor, or a representative of the SCC, permission to share confidential counseling information with specific other persons such as parents, an RA, faculty member, or another health service provider.

Important Note: We do not have a Student Counseling Center email account and do not provide email counseling.

All questions and requests for personal, help, counseling, therapy, or consultation should be directed to our main number: (812) 237-3939. Our Counseling Center does not respond to email requests for personal help, counseling, therapy, or consultation. Due to variations in work schedules, it may be days (or weeks) before an email account is checked. Please refer to the following links for additional information about contacting the counseling center during normal business hours or after-hours.

• Provide direct professional mental health services to ISU students, including individual and group counseling, crisis response, consultation, brief assessment, and referral, that are accessible to and provide for the general well-being of all ISU students.
• Provide appropriate referral for students who may have concerns that are not within our scope of proficiency; or problems that may be chronic or severe in nature and may require more services than the SCC is capable of offering.
• Counselors will seek to encourage self-awareness, personal responsibility and healthy interpersonal relationships within a diverse environment.
• Maintain open communication between providers, staff, and clients, while at the same time ensuring confidentiality and privacy as mandated by state and federal laws.
• Treatment of all individuals with whom we come in contact with respect regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or class.
• Provide prevention programming and consultation to students, faculty, and staff with the purpose of facilitating healthy development, wellness, and psychological functioning.
• Facilitate education and training of students and staff on topics that are germane to the healthy functioning and well-being of ISU students.
• Ensure that all services provided are vital, current, and ethical.
• Maintain positive and ongoing relationships with the campus and surrounding community, with an emphasis in establishing and sustaining liaisons with those groups who have regular contact with ISU students.
• Provide continued professional and personal development opportunities to our staff, with the express purpose of reducing burnout and allowing counselors to find a sense of balance; which will in turn allow them to maintain a high level of work with clients.
• Counselors will conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the ethical guidelines set forth by the APA.

L. Kenneth Chew, Jr., Psy.D., HSPP
Director
Dr. Chew has been the Director of the ISU Student Counseling Center since 2007. In addition to his administrative functions as Director of the SCC, his other responsibilities include: administrator for student health insurance, primary university contact for UAP clinic, oversight of TB testing for International students, university HIPAA officer, coordination and facilitation of the Student Affairs Behavior Assessment Team (SABAT), campus and community liaisons, and coordinator of the Performance Excellence Program. Dr. Chew received his doctorate from the Virginia Consortium Program in Clinical Psychology in 2001 and completed his undergraduate work at Jamestown College, where he majored in Psychology with a minor in Fine Art. Dr. Chew’s training and professional experiences include: the Hampton Roads VA Hospital, where he worked with drug and alcohol patients; the College of William & Mary Student Counseling Center, where he did a concentration in the counseling of college students with a specific focus in the counseling of athletes; New Mexico State University Student Counseling Center for internship; and the Washington D.C . Public Schools, where he did clinical and psycho-educational assessments on children, adolescents, and young adults for over two years. His professional interests include the counseling of athletes, performance enhancement, drug and alcohol issues, multicultural counseling, facilitation of professional and personal development training, and outreach programming. He has been at ISU since January of 2002.

Trista Gibbons, LMFT
Associate Director
Trista Gibbons is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist; and she became Associate Director in the summer of 2011. Trista acts as the primary supervisor of the master’s level trainees, manages the front office of the SCC, and acts as a liaison to Campus Ministries. She has a Masters degree in marriage and family therapy from the Alfred Adler Graduate School in Minnesota, and a Bachelors degree in psychology and family studies from St. Olaf College in Minnesota. Trista has experience and training in working with survivors of sexual violence, and issues related to drugs and alcohol and relationships. Her professional experience includes; coordinating and implementing direct services at the Sexual Violence Center in Minneapolis, MN and working with children and families at Hamilton Center community mental health. Her professional interests include women’s issues, relationships and couples counseling, Christian counseling, and working with survivors of sexual violence.

Suellyn Mahan, Ph.D., HSPP
Senior Staff Psychologist/Assistant Director
Dr. Mahan is currently the Assistant Director of the ISU Student Counseling Center. She is also a military psychologist. Her primary responsibilities include assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of college students with a variety of issues, individual counseling, outreach planning, and liaison for several programs on campus. Dr. Mahan earned her Doctorate in psychology from Indiana State University. Her professional interests include assessment and treatment of children and adolescents, internalizing and externalizing disorders, and military issues. Dr Mahan has worked as a private practice psychologist, community mental health psychologist, staff psychologist for foster parents, and adjunct faculty at ISU. She also has over 25 years in the military and spent three year-long tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a military psychologist from 2003-2004, 2009-2010 and 2012-2013. Dr Mahan enjoys reading, golfing, music, and traveling.

Melissa Grinslade, MSW, LCSW
Staff Counselor
Melissa Grinslade is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Melissa is the SCC liaison with International Programs and Services, Spectrum LGBTQA student group, and Student Government Association. She is also a current member of the ISU Staff Council. Melissa received her Master's degree in social work from Indiana University and her Bachelor's degree in psychology from Indiana University. She has experience and training working with Autism Spectrum Disorders and early childhood trauma. Her professional experience includes working with children and families at Hamilton Center community mental health and Gibault residential treatment center. Her professional interests include multicultural counseling, eating disorder treatment, and early childhood trauma. Melissa has several certifications for yoga training, including Yoga for Mental Health, and uses her skills to teach classes in the community, a local residential treatment center for children, and will be starting a Yoga for Emotional Balance class at ISU this fall.

Christine Love, Ph.D.
Staff Psychologist/Clinical Training Coordinator
Chrissie Love is the Coordinator of Training for the master’s- and doctoral-level trainees at the SCC. She also acts as the coordinator of the SCC’s testing services, oversees the alcohol and drug programming, and is a liaison to Disability Services and the various training programs with which we work. Chrissie has her Doctorate in counseling psychology from Indiana State University, her Master’s degree in college counseling from Western Michigan University, and her Bachelor’s degree in advertising and psychology from Michigan State University. Chrissie’s professional and training experiences include college counseling with emphasis on sexual assault and dating violence programming, ADHD/LD testing, provision of training and supervision, and group counseling, and crisis intervention in hospital and community mental health settings. Her professional interests include training and supervision, psychological assessment, depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and relationship concerns.

Nicole Walker

• Michael Smith
• Leah Powell
• Kathy Ginter